Arose Power
by KaelynnD
Summary: The world has changed. With one man ruling over all, everything is slowly falling apart. Seto Kaiba sets out on a mission to rescue his kidnapped brother, but also, he is determined to put an end to the reign of the Ruler.
1. Chapter 1

Hey Guys! Sorry for the long wait, and I left you with a cliff hanger! But I decided, since I have a lot of it typed up, I will go ahead and post it, a bit earlier than expected.

So here's the deal, this is the sequel to my story, From the Dead. If you have not read that, I suggest doing so first. It isn't too long, (Just 22 chapters, haha- ) and it will really clear some things up. And for all of you who have read FtD, this story takes place about a year after the final scene of From the Dead. So, a lot of time has passed.

Bear in mind, there are some new characters, some old characters, my OC, and lots more action than the first story. I'm really excited and hope you all like it!

**Chapter Titles? Yes or no?**

Disclaimer: In the time I have been gone, I did not acquire control of the Yu-gi-oh! series, thus I must say: "I do not own Yu-gi-oh!"

* * *

**Chapter One  
Seto's POV- The Recap**

I raised a hand to block the glare of the sun from hitting my eyes. There wasn't a cloud to be seen, nothing to offer protection from its rays. Not even a breeze across the desert to briefly stand in the sun's path. I knew that I was unable to help my situation, the only available relief was in the shade of the palace. My work site.

I didn't enjoy working on the palace, but it was the only way to accomplish what I came to Egypt to do. I had to rescue Mokuba.

Ever since the world had be "conquered", as many people claimed, my life had gone down the drain. KaibaCorp was shut down, my house destroyed, but most importantly, Mokuba had been kidnapped. I had made him a promise, as I escaped from the collapsing house, that I would come back for him, that I wouldn't leave him. With no idea how I was going to do this, I hastily made arrangements before I left the country. Just as the banks were closing, I thought to withdraw as much money as I could. So, with lots of money, no home, and no clue as to what my next step would be, I did the one thing I could do. The one thing Mokuba would do.

I went to Yugi's.

The Motou's had been suffering as well, finding it hard to adjust to the new world. Their shop was closed as they had all their possessions packed, preparing to move.

After having a long conversation with Yugi, I learned that they were planning on moving to Egypt, to stay close to the action. At least, that was where Mr. Motou was going. While Solomon was leaving for Egypt, Yugi confessed that he never planned on going with him. He and a few of the past item holders were staying in the country, hoping to form a resistance of sorts. Yugi offered me a place among them, but I declined, we didn't have the same end goal in mind.

I wanted to find my brother, defeating the 'Ruler' was the last thing on my mind. If he wanted to rule the world, I wasn't going to stop him. Mokuba and I would move to a remote location and live off the money I had.

Yugi wanted to destroy him. Reclaiming the item that he had lost so many months ago. The other item holders were planning to do the same.

I did not want the Rod back. Although it bothered me to lose it, I knew that regaining it would be the worst possible thing for me. Let Yugi take the Rod. Seth could be his problem.

Seth. I had known him for a week. That was enough for me. I was grateful to him for saving my life, taking my place in the duel against the Ruler, but Seth was too similar to me. He was in my head, inside me, almost a part of my soul. And when forced to be that close to someone, it is a good idea for the two to get along. Since we didn't, I was glad to be rid of him.

The day after Yugi explained this to me, I boarded a ship headed to Egypt, accompanying Mr. Motou. Taking a plane would have been simpler, but the Ruler had to destroy those along with almost all other technology in the world. Almost two days after acquiring all the Millennium Items, he sent a virus across the globe, ruining all computer systems. Cellphones, planes, electricity, anything that was operated using computers was shut down.

The trip to Egypt was long. It took nearly a month to dock, then another two weeks to reach Giza. A girl, Kaelyn, joined us on the trek to the new capitol city, telling us that she had family there.

Once there, Solomon and I went our separate ways. Kaelyn however, followed me, asking if she could stay with me for a while. My immediate reaction was to say 'no', and when asked for an explanation, I told her just a small part of my story. Once I finished, she pulled me aside, confessing that she wasn't here for family. Back in America, she had worked as a covert agent for the FBI. When they could no longer support her, due to the Ruler's actions against the government, she was let go. She moved to Egypt to get answers, and to help in any way she could think of. With this information, I let her stay with me, and bought a small house.

The next thing I had to do was find a way to get to the Ruler. After spending hours in thought, I decided that my best option was to get very close, a place he wouldn't expect.

His own home. He had to live somewhere, why couldn't I help build it?

I asked around for days until I found my answer. The Ruler hadn't yet arrived in Giza. He had announced that he was coming, but he was waiting until his palace was built. And not just any palace, the largest in history. It required a lot of workers to construct, but I managed to find a job designing it. I had been designing computer programs since I moved into my step-father's house years ago, so drafting a palace was easy, and the men couldn't pass up my skills.

I never mentioned my name. Most Egyptians wouldn't recognize an American teenager, so I used my fake i.d., and no one realized who I was. And while designing the layout, I placed every room to my advantage. The dungeons had about six different escape routes, and the Ruler's room had only one entrance, on the third floor.

As I approached the palace gates, I showed my identification to the guard posted. He nodded in approval, signaling another guard to open the gates.

I entered, dreading another day on the job.

* * *

**The Ruler's POV**

"My plan was flawless, I worked everything out so with such detail. How could they have tricked me? Two teenagers, my own sons? Keeping me from the one thing I wanted most. How could you let Seto get away? He was the one I wanted, not that brat Mokuba. Speaking of the child, where is he now?" I finally finished yelling, much to the relief of the other five men in the room. Someone had brought up the "day of the swap", as they now referred to it, and I had gone on a tangent for the past hour.

"He is in the next tent sir."

"He had better be well guarded. I can't lose both of the brothers now can I?"

I left the men cowering in fear with those words.

Stepping out of the tent and into the sun, I couldn't help but wince. It was far too hot for my own personal taste, but I have no one to blame but myself, I had made the decision to move to Egypt. So I walked quickly to the next tent, after just a few seconds in the direct path of the sun, I was more than ready for the shade the tent would provide.

Two guards were standing at the entrance and they stepped aside to let me in. I had a brief feeling of guilt for forcing them to stay outside in this heat, but the thought was short-lived. A rush of cool air carried all thoughts on the matter away.

The only source of light in the tent was a small lantern beside the guard stationed inside the tent. I had to wait a moment for my eyes to become accustomed to the darkness before I could take in my surroundings.

The guard inside the tent sat near the entrance, near a small stack of crates holding what I assumed were his possessions. The guard had a gun laying across his lap, the safety off. I appreciated his precaution.

In the far corner, Mokuba was sitting on the ground, hands tied behind his back. His knees were pulled up to his chest and he was resting his head on top on them. The position didn't look comfortable.

Although I knew the boy's age, I couldn't believe that he was fifteen. He had grown since I first adopted him, now standing around 5'9". It wasn't his size that made him appear young. He was thin, too thin to be healthy, and he appeared as though he hadn't eaten a decent meal in weeks. But as I thought about it, I realized that he probably hadn't. Prisoners don't generally get full meals, or even meals. I just informed the guards stationed to him that they couldn't let him die.

Hearing someone approach, the boy lifted his head to see who it was. He immediately locked eyes with me.

"Hello Mokuba."

While keeping his glare in place, Mokuba calmly answered, "Gozaburo."

* * *

Very short, I know, but this is just the prologue. You have no idea how hard it was not to upload this as soon as I finished typing it. It took every ounce of self-restraint I had, but I am sure you would rather I updated each chapter quickly and not every two months.

Tell me what you think! **_Re_V_iEw!!_**

**Preview- Chapter Two:** _Gozaburo has a talk with Mokuba. And Seto is at work and discovers that he is going to have to meet the Ruler! And you get to meet Kaelyn Dellwood, my OC. Her information is on my updated profile. Take a look!_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two- Discussions

Hey everyone! Thanks to Kaibagirl007 reviewing chapter one, and I really appreciate all you who read it. Also, if you wouldn't mind, take a look at my profile at the up-and-coming stories. I have two listed that I am really excited about, which one sounds more interesting? I am debating which one to post first. I have a poll up, so vote there!

Disclaimer: Once again, I own nothing. Not even a laptop. (Hopefully that will change soon!) So Yugioh belongs to some random person whom I have never met. Poo.

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**Gozaburo's POV**

I kept my gaze on Mokuba, which was difficult to do. His dark hair covered most of his eyes, even though they were very large. But I quickly grew tired of the staring contest, giving up to examine the rest of the boy. My orders had been very specific. The child was not to be harmed, but obviously, someone hadn't been listening.

Mokuba's jeans were torn at the knees, as though he had fallen and been dragged across the ground. They were also covered with blood stains. His left arm had a crudely made bandage, tied in a tight knot just above his elbow.

"What do you want?" He asked, tired of waiting for me to speak-up.

"Must I want something? Can't a father check up on his son without having his reasons questioned?" I felt the smirk crawl onto my face. It was clear that Mokuba didn't appreciate being call 'son', which is the exact reason I did so. Seto had hated it as well.

Mokuba didn't answer. He just stared at me, biting his tongue. A wise decision on his part.

"I want to know where Seto is hiding, and don't give me that crap you gave the other men I sent. You cannot be that ignorant of your brother's plan."

"I don't know where he is. I am not telling you 'crap', it is the truth! I haven't seen or heard from him since you separated us. Now is there anything else that I can help clear up?" Mokuba's tone reminded me of Seto when he was angry. It didn't bother me in the slightest.

"_I _separated you? Why isn't that how I remember it happening? Wasn't it you and Seto who formed that ridiculous stunt? I didn't separate you two, in fact, it was my plan to keep you together. Seto chose to run away."

"That stunt was to help Seto, and it wasn't his idea. I did that to keep him away from you!"

"Oh, it wasn't Seto's idea, then what did James have to do with it? Wasn't that the story you told me last time we had this discussion?"

Mokuba didn't answer. He knew that I had caught his bluff. It had been a year since he told that lie, and apparently it had slipped his mind since that time.

"Fine. I lied. Of course Seto wasn't going to leave me, but I made the hard decision, the one that would help my brother."

"Why help him? He isn't helping you. He is probably glad to have you out of his way, after all, you were the only thing holding him back."

"You know nothing about me or Seto, so don't even pretend that you do! You don't know how we ended up in that orphanage home, what Seto went through to keep me safe, and you don't realize how hard Seto fought to get us adopted. But Seto knows that I would rather rot here, in this corner, than help you control his life again!" Mokuba had been increasing the volume of his voice until he was screaming. I returned the favor.

"I may not know what Seto went through, but I certainly know what you are about to suffer."

I bent down so I was at Mokuba's eye level, grabbing his neck and pulling his face close to my own. "Before I am done with you, you are going to wish that you have never crossed my path."

"You are right. I all ready do."

"Just wait." I threatened.

"Bring it."

I allowed my anger to take hold of me, and delivered a sharp blow to Mokuba's jaw, knocking the boy backwards. The pain on his face was evident, but the anger overwhelmed the feeling. It was at that point that I realized, Mokuba didn't just talk like Seto, he had the same spirit. He wouldn't be any help to me now.

I stormed out of the tent.

* * *

**Seto's POV**

"No, that isn't right! The throne needs to face the door, not the window, turn it this way!" Kimo screamed at the workers who were standing near the throne.

The past few days have been torture for me. The palace was built, more quickly than I ever could have imagined, and I now had to help decorate and move furniture around. I was working directly under Kimo, and everyday I feared that he would recognize me. Luckily, he wasn't too bright, because my disguise wasn't very good. Probably since it wasn't really a disguise, but actually the way I looked.

Two men walked by me carrying a mirror, and I took a minute to stare at myself.

After being in Egypt for a nearly a year, my skin had grown dark. It was actually much darker, which I still hadn't gotten used to. The sun had lightened my hair, and with a year to grow my hair out, it was quite a different look. I didn't take the time to style my hair anymore, so I looked very wild at the moment. The only effort I put into my appearance was making sure that my hair covered my eyes. Unfortunately, I couldn't change the color since color contacts were no longer available. The one other thing that had to be covered was the large scar running between my eyes. I couldn't let people see it, something that large would draw unwanted attention.

"Ryoko Tokushima!"

I turned at the sound of my name. I had gotten the i.d. when I was sixteen, knowing that it would come in handy at a later point. Being prepared was always a good thing.

Kimo was gesturing for me to come over and talk. I obeyed, but not too eagerly.

"Which room did this go in?" Kimo asked, pointing to an armchair.

"The Ruler's room I believe. There should be two of them." I answered keeping my gaze away from him.

"Two? Find the other!" He yelled at a nearby worker. I watched as the man jumped and ran away. I had never realized Kimo had that effect on people.

"Ryoko, I need you to take these home with you today. It is a list of all the things still left to do on the palace. Look over it and decide which are the most important so we can tackle those first. The other pages are the items still left to buy, but I feel like that idiot Clint didn't think of everything. I just need you to glance over it."

I nodded, pretending to look interested in the papers, I hated going through lists, and didn't understand how that was my job.

"Oh, and another thing, I need you to be the Ruler's tour guide tomorrow. Who knows the palace better than he who designed it?"

I was so glad at that moment for the curtain of hair covering my eyes, because they instantly grew twice their size. Me? Show Gozaburo his new palace? That couldn't happen, I couldn't let it happen.

"Go home and prepare yourself. I'm letting you off early today." Kimo instructed. Before I walked away, he placed his hand on my shoulder. "And Ryoko," He began, "try to make yourself look somewhat presentable. Cut your hair or something, after all, you are meeting the conqueror of the world."

I nodded and walked off.

How could Gozaburo not recognize me? He began this entire domination thing with one purpose. Revenge. He hated me that much, a few changes in appearance wouldn't fool him. Kimo had the mental capacity of a rodent, Gozaburo wouldn't fall for my disguise.

I needed a plan now.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-_Later, at Seto's home_-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The front door was never left open. I always close it when I leave.

I heard a loud crash and knew immediately who was inside. Kaelyn had gotten home before me.

Entering quickly, I glanced around the small room to make sure she wasn't hurt, or broken anything of importance. I saw her on the floor, picking up pieces of shattered glass. It looked like one of our plates.

She looked up, trying to appear innocent, making her gray eyes larger than normal.

"Uh, it fell?" She said, but her tone showed that even she wasn't even convinced of her lie. I laughed and bent down to help her pick up the pieces.

Kaelyn tried to push her hair behind her ears, but it refused to stay put. It was a flat, dirty mud color. She had chosen the dullest possible color to help avoid detection in the desert. Her natural blond color was so close to white, that it would stick out in a sea of people. The color wasn't the only thing she changed, he cut her hair off, so it hung just above her shoulders.

She growled as the glass she had been stacking in her hands toppled over.

"You know, for being a spy, you certainly break a lot of things." I stated. She ignored me, aside from rolling her eyes. I think that she couldn't come up with a decent retort.

Once we had collected all the pieces, we collected them and threw them in the nearby trash bin.

"Kaelyn, we have a problem." I told her as soon as she had taken a seat on one of the few chairs in the house. Actually, it was one of the only pieces of furniture in the house. Our house wasn't very large, three rooms, a bedroom, a kitchen which included a living room, and a bathroom that no longer had running water. I slept in the living room, and Kaelyn took the bedroom. That was our agreement, she looks after Mokuba and I give up the bed.

"And what might that be?"

"Kimo just told me that I have to act as a tour guide when Gozaburo moves in." As I spoke, Kaelyn's expression changed, from complete boredom to great interest.

"Seriously? You have to be his tour guide? What, the Ruler and Conqueror of the world can't find his way around his own house?" I noted the smirk playing on the corners of her lips.

"This isn't funny, Kae. It is very serious, he cannot find me, not now."

Kaelyn nodded, quickly switching into her "spymode" as I call it on occasion, just when I am trying to annoy her.

"So why are you the chosen one? Aren't there other people who could do it just as well, like Kimo himself?"

"Apparently not. Kimo said something about the designer knowing the place best. He is right, I have the place completely memorized, but it is ridiculous that they are giving him a tour. You did have a point, if he is so powerful, he should be able to find his way around the palace that he decided to make so large."

I groaned and leaned against the wall opposite Kaelyn. Taking a deep breath, I slowly slid to the floor. The spy gave me a sad glance as I ran a hand through my hair.

"I'm not looking for your pity, I just- I need help Kae. Obviously, I can't skip work that day without drawing suspicion to myself, but if I do go to work, Gozaburo will recognize me the second he sees me. Then I'll have no way of saving my brother. And the only way to rescue Mokuba is to work where I do now. It doesn't seem possible to get out of this situation."

Kaelyn stood and began to slowly pace across the room. I watched as she walked from one corner of the room to the other, occasionally pausing, but then shaking her head and beginning her pace again.

She continued on for nearly ten minutes. I didn't interrupt her, she could yell really loud when she is angry and I didn't feel like calming her down right now.

"All right, I have an idea, but we will have to plan his out very carefully." Kaelyn began, stopping to sit on the floor in front of me.

"Let's hear it."

"Here is what I am thinking, you go to work, and be ready to give the tour."

"Were you listening to a word I said? I can't just turn myself in." Kae glared at me, then continued with the plan.

"You won't be turning yourself in, this is what is going to happen. I am going to speak with my contact inside the palace. We are going to create a diversion. Just before Gozaburo meets you, something will happen. I don't know what yet, but I am considering an assassination attempt, but that is just a thought."

I stared at her doubtfully.

"Who in their right mind would even consider assassinating Gozaburo? They would be dead within seconds of entering the room."

"Wow, you really know how to ruin a good mood. I never said that it would be an attempt at his life, that was just the first thing that came to mind." Kae paused for a moment, bit her lip and added, "just to be safe, we really need to find a way to change your appearance."

"So you want me to walk into the palace looking completely different? Don't you think that is a bit suspicious?"

"I'm not saying we should color your hair or cut it all off, but subtle things. Eye color, height, cover up your scar. Oh! Can I pierce your ear?"

"Absolutely not." I stated, sounding as firm as I could manage.

"You won't have to wear it forever. Just for that one day."

"I'm not changing my mind on this Kae. No earrings."

Kaelyn looked upset. "It is just one earring. . ." She mumbled quietly.

I leaned forward, moving nearer to Kaelyn.

"I really appreciate your help. Really, I'm glad I met you on that boat."

"Psh- you're grateful? I came over here looking for a way to help take down the Ruler and I run into his son. Who happens to be the one person with a chance of kicking the old man's butt out of power, That is pretty lucky if you ask me."

"I suppose you are right. You are lucky to have met me." I mocked. Kae playfully hit my arm.

"Go it cleaned up, it happens to be your night to cook dinner." She stood up, placed both hands on my shoulders and said, "Good luck Mr. Tokushima."

Then she walked into the bedroom.

* * *

End Chapter!

Preview of the Next Chapter: The trip to the palace. Just one scene, that one that I posted at the end of From the Dead. Gozaburo manages to get some information out of Mokuba. My favorite chapter so far!

REVIEW FOR FAST UPDATE!


	3. Chapter 3

Hey everyone, here it is, the third chapter of Arose Power. Thanks to you reviewers, I always love hearing what you have to say! And I'm going to say it again, for everyone who hasn't all ready, take a look at my profile and vote on the story you want me to publish next. They are both partly written, but if you vote, I'll know which on I need to work on more.

So, this chapter contains the preview that I posted at the end of From the Dead. Hopefully, it will clear up any confusion that you readers had, and I'll say it again, this is my favorite chapter written so far. And I have a lot of this story written. If you watch for it, there are many clues hidden in the following paragraphs that will play into later chapters. There are at least four shadows in this chapter, so look carefully!

Disclaimer: I do not claim to own anything related to the Yugioh series. . .

* * *

Gozaburo's POV

There were few things I regret in my life. I regret killing my mother, even if she did have the gall to order me around. I regret adopting Seto, and not catching him before he took over my company. And I regret not taking over the world sooner. A very short list.

But now, I feel that I must add something onto that list. I really regret my decision to ride to the palace alone. It was so monotonous that I nearly fell asleep. I didn't want to taint my image by appearing weak, so I forced my self to focus on the noises outside my cart.

It was obvious that I drew a lot of attention; I could hear many voices outside, all speaking in hushed tones. Were they afraid? I hoped so, I wanted people to fear me, to become worthless in my presence. With all this power I possessed, it wouldn't be too hard to invoke fear into the people. Ten or eleven pointless killings would have them cowering before me.

Leaning my head back, I recalled my plan for revenge that I had forsaken months ago. I remembered the clarity in which I could picture it, Seto's face when I defeated him. Torturing him until he pleaded with me, begging for his own death. I remembered how I had planned to react, a smile and granting him his wish, only to first brutally murder Mokuba in front of him. I would stand back and watch Seto as his baby brother was torn to pieces, how I would treasure the expression on his face. The heartbreak, anguish and devastation I had caused. Only then would I let him die. A slow, agonizing death, giving him plenty of time to relive his brother's death.

It had been the perfect plan. Every night I would dream of it, playing my favorite parts over and over.

Why couldn't Ishtar have held on to the Rod for one more day? If he had, I could have defeated him, and Seto never would have pulled that ridiculous "James" stunt. It could have been prevented; I would have Seto right now, if only.

I renewed a private vow I had made to myself many times in the past few months. When I came across Malik Ishtar, I will kill him, making it as painful as I could manage.

After all, it was his own fault.

I jerked forward as my cart came to an abrupt stop. Quickly sitting back up straight, I pondered over the reason for the delay. Surely anything going on outside could be handled, or at least wait until we reached the palace.

The curtain covering the cart was pulled back and the light let in was so bright, I was forced to close my eyes. I heard someone sit down in front of me, and as soon as the curtain fell we began to move again.

Opening my eyes, I saw Lector sitting before me, holding something in his hands.

"This had better be important Lector."

"I believe it is, sir." He held the object in his hand out to me, and I took it.

The item was a folded stack of papers. But I wasn't interested yet, so I ignored them for the time being.

"I've been looking for Seto over the past few months, but he appears to have vanished into thin air." He froze, realizing his poor choice of words.

"Just finish." I ordered. He eagerly complied.

"Well, I decided to stop looking for Seto Kaiba, but instead find people who matched his appearance. While waiting for something to come up, I had an epiphany. Seto most likely would come wherever we are, hoping to find a way to rescue Mokuba. I immediately sent his description to all docks, ports, any place that Seto could find a ride to Egypt, and for some time, I had no luck.

"Yesterday, I received a letter saying that someone matching Seto's appearance had been seen boarding the last passenger boat leaving Domino, but this was many months ago. The letter is the first sheet you have in your hands."

I unfolded the paper, and read the letter.

__

Mr. Keith Lector,

A while back, all though I cannot be sure of the exact date, I was working at Domino Sea Port, checking passengers' i.d.s and tickets as the boarded the ship. My job was dull, and I lost interest quickly, scanning just the picture on the i.d., and not the names. However, one day, as the last ship was leaving Domino, I was surprised to see a boy who I believe was Seto Kaiba. He was accompanied by an elderly man, who I didn't recognize. I regret to say that I was so torn over whether or not this boy was the Seto Kaiba, that I didn't give his i.d., or his companion's i.d. a second glance. I understand that I missed a crucial aspect of my job, and I asked a co-worker if she recognized the two. She verified that it was in fact, Seto Kaiba.

However, when I checked the passenger manifest, his name wasn't on the list. I passed him off as a look-a-like and he was soon forgotten.

When I received your letter, that instance was brought to mind and I decided it was worth looking into. Since it was the last ship leaving Domino, I remember that it was heading towards Egypt, at least, that was its final destination, it made a few stops along the way. I went through the Port's records and pulled out the list of passengers, and sent them along with this letter.

I hope that I was of some assistance.

~Mary Galei

"You read the letter yourself, Seto wasn't on the passenger list. It could have been anyone." I stated, angry that Lector had been wasting his time in such a ridiculous manner.

"I have gotten about forty letters from different places saying they've seen people who fit that description. This one is different."

I was still puzzled as he spoke, but in an attempt to cover my confusion, I added a question. "How is it different?"

"Look at the passenger list, it is the next sheet. You'll be able to tell just by skimming this list."

I did as he said. Reading over the list, I was shocked. He may actually be right.

"Solomon Motou? That is the short old man I shot in the game shop?" I asked, recalling the day it had happened. It was a good shot, right through the knee, at his age, he wouldn't be entering any marathons soon.

Lector nodded in response, but didn't speak, so I continued, pressing for any unspoken information.

"So someone on this sheet, one of the names, that is Seto alias?" I reread the list, making sure his name wasn't on it. But of course, it couldn't be easy.

"Here is my reasoning. We know Seto isn't original, am I correct?" Lector asked.

"No, he isn't." I responded quickly.

"So he probably couldn't come up with a believable name. My guess is he used a family name or his middle name. I assumed you would know more about it than I."

Crap. How was I supposed to know what Seto's middle name is? I had never even thought about asking. I didn't even care about Seto, why would I waste brain cells remembering his middle name?

But Mokuba would know.

"Thank you Lector. Stop the caravan, and go get Mokuba. Bring him to me. Now." I ordered. He obeyed without hesitation, and I smiled once he turned his back. That is how all men should behave towards me, obeying without question.

I waited patiently while waiting for Mokuba. My mind was going over was Lector had suggested.

Seto, in Egypt. The thought was incredible. He was so close, I was so close to my revenge, if Mokuba would just tell me what name was Seto's I would be just a few days away.

It was a few minutes before I finally heard men approaching my cart.

"Watch it brat!"

"You stepped on me!"

"Quit dragging your feet, you are just making this harder on yourself!"

I didn't look up as the curtain was pulled back and Mokuba thrown in. I kept my eyes on the papers in my hands, waiting for the curtain to fall.

Mokuba struggled to get up from his place at my feet. His hands were tied together, making it difficult for the boy.

Looking down, I took notice of Mokuba's hands. While bound together, they were trying to get a grip on something. But I noticed something else. His index finger on his right hand was horribly crooked. It had been months since I had broken that finger, I hadn't even thought about it since then, or considered how poorly it would heal.

Serves him right.

Finally, he got off the floor and sat in the spot Lector had just left.

"Now what do you want?" Mokuba asked.

"I need a small favor. Thought I would ask for your help." I answered, shifting in my seat.

Mokuba raised his eyebrows incredulously. "A favor? Really? I would just love to help you out! Giving out favors to captors just completes my day." He answered with mock enthusiasm.

I hate sarcasm.

"Excellent, glad to hear it." I said, not affected by his sarcasm. He just glared.

"Now," I continued, "Read this list of names out loud." I held out the sheet with the passenger's names.

"You stopped this entire caravan to get me to read," He paused to examine the paper he was now holding, "A list of names? Are you joking?"

"Do it now." I ordered.

"Shin Baie, Paul Bryant, Ardis Carswell, Kelli Dallat, Candace Forth, Matt Jet, Steve Kenneth, Kenson McAye, is there a point to this?"

"Finish." I instructed, watching his face all the while. My purpose in making him read the names aloud was to watch him, look for a reaction. So far, his face had remained exactly the same.

"Solomon Motou, Esther O'Bryan, Ian Petricli, Erica Samuels, Hayden Smith, Ryoko Tokushima, and Rowan Whist." Mokuba handed the list back to me.

"Any names ring a bell?" I asked, carefully refolding the sheet along with the letter.

"Were they supposed to?"

"Answer my question Mokuba."

"None of them ring any bells." He answered.

I was impressed. The boy lied very well; he kept a completely straight face. No visible tells.

"So you've never heard of Solomon Motou? Because I thought he was an acquaintance of yours. I don't like being lied to, Mokuba."

"And I don't like being kidnapped, tortured, dragged across the world, and being held against my will." He replied.

I wanted to hit him as hard as I could, beating the sarcasm right out of him. A broken finger would be the least of his injuries.

But instead, I changed tactics.

"What is your brother's middle name?"

He laughed.

"What? Is that small talk? Or did you suddenly decided to take an interest in our lives? No wait, are you running for 'World's Greatest Dad'?"

Now I began to lose patience. Did he not realize that I could kill him at any moment? That with a flick of my wrist I could snap his scrawny little neck? Could he not tell that I wanted to do all those things? That I was looking forward to the day that I no longer needed him alive?

Mokuba must have seen the anger appear on my face, so he quickly answered, "Seto."

"Excuse me?"

"Seto dropped his first name years ago, right after mom and dad died. Seto is his middle name."

Clever. He didn't even have to come up with a fake name; the name on his birth certificate would be completely different than the name he now went by. A fake i.d. wouldn't even be necessary, he could simply have a normal one made. Brilliant.

"What name did he drop?"

"His first one."

The brat wasn't even attempting to hide that fact that he was trying to annoy me. It was as though he wanted me to argue with him. He has to know that he couldn't possibly win in a fight, so why bother? Unless. . .

"Are you stalling? Hoping that we reach the palace before I can get any information out of you?" The look on his face showed that he didn't expect me to figure that out.

"Bravo. That took even less time than I thought, good for you." He gave a fake clap, at least, to the best of his ability with his hands tied together.

Then, to my surprise, he rolled his eyes. A very bold move, one that Seto wouldn't even had considered making.

"You are still stalling, so can I assume that you aren't going to give me anything useful? Your plan is to stall until we reach the palace, hoping that I will send you away and forget to question you for a while. Am I getting close?"

"Possibly."

I couldn't help it. I groaned when I felt the cart stop. He had actually won, stalling me until we reached the palace, keeping me ranting on how I had uncovered his brilliant plan. I never gave the kid enough credit, he was very smart. He had to be, after all, he had just outsmarted the conqueror of the world.

The curtain was pulled back slowly, Gansley stood there, waiting for Mokuba. I had placed Gansley in charge of the kid, mostly because I knew how much Seto hated him. I figured Mokuba would as well.

I stepped off the cart and watched as all the men around me to a step back.

"Sir," Gansley began, "what would you like me to do with the boy?" I considered my options carefully for a moment, and then answered. "Take him to my room. I'm not done with him just yet." Gansley nodded and turned back to the cart, pulling Mokuba from his seat.

I wished that I had a camera to capture the expression on Mokuba's face when Gansley grabbed him, it was worth remembering.

Since Mokuba's hands were tied together, there was really no need to worry about keeping him still, but Gansley did. One hand was wrapped around his throat, the other was working its way through his hair.

I could see from Mokuba's face that he knew all that Gansley and I had done to Seto, why else would he be so afraid? I decided to work it for all I could.

"Oh, and Gansley, make sure Mokuba is ready to talk when I come up." A smirk appeared on Gansley's face.

"How shall I do that?"

Bending down to Mokuba's eye level, I stated, "Use your imagination."

* * *

End Chapter! Phew, that took me forever to type at my cute little forty words a minute. Watch for chapter four some time next week, maybe the week after. Depends on my school load, with finals coming up, I need to spend the most time studying for them.

Also, sorry if anyone got multiple emails about this chapter, I uploaded it, then realized that some paragraphs were misplaced, I don't know how it happened, but I had to fix it. Sorry for any confusion.

**Preview of the Next Chapter:** The shortest chapter yet. Mokuba and Gansley have a talk in Gozaburo's room. It may not sound thrilling, but I like that chapter, of course, I like this story line way better the FtD, much more exciting.

Let's hear those reviews! After all, this is my _**birthday week**!_ It can be like your present to me, a wonderful review.


	4. Chapter 4

Hello readers! I'm a bit late uploading this chapter, but I am out of school in just two weeks, so I'll be posting much more often after that! This chapter isn't too long, like I said at the end of the last chapter, but it is pretty vital in the overall plot.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh, but I do own Kaelyn. She is mine.

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**Mokuba's POV**

"You do realize that I can't go anywhere, and I am perfectly capable of walking on my own. There is no need to drag me." I told Gansley as we walked to Gozaburo's bedroom. Well, I wasn't really walking, stumbling after Gansley is really what I was doing.

"Yes, and if I let you do that everyone we walked by would think that I wasn't doing my job. So you have to obey me, understand?" His grip on my arm tightened as he continued to drag me down the long hallway. And at the end of the hall, there was a door. The only door I had seen in a while, it was very secluded, which I didn't understand.

"That's his room?" I asked, not looking for an answer. It seemed strange to me, for his room to be hidden in such a maze of halls. It was too private, walking here took too long, shouldn't his room be more conveniently located?

"Are you just going to leave me in there? I don't know where Seto is, I can't tell him anything."

Gansley pulled the door open and pushed me inside.

If I was the Ruler of the world, I would pick a different room. This one was monotonous. Neutral colors, no decorations, the minimum amount of furniture possible, what the crap were the decorators thinking? Does Gozaburo really just need a bed, desk and a pair of armchairs?

Gansley led me to the bed, and we both sat down. He pulled out a pocket knife and cut the rope from around my wrists. I rubbed them until I felt the blood returning.

"Now what?" It was his call, I was the hostage in this situation.

"I have a meeting to attend, you have to stay in here." As he spoke, he reached down and took hold of my wrists. Using his other hand, he brought a pair of handcuffs out of his pocket.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Sorry kid, I can't have you going anywhere while I'm gone."

"Where do you think I am going to go? This place is crawling with guards, I am stuck in here." I was panicking, surely he wouldn't leave me helpless in Gozaburo's room.

But he did. Pulling both of my hands above my head, he chained them to the headboard. What could be worse than being chained to Gozaburo's bed?

"One more thing." Gansley said. I watched as he brought forth a strip of cloth.

I opened my mouth to protest, but I didn't get the chance to say anything before he shoved the gag in.

"Sorry, it isn't like I want to be doing any of these things. You don't need to worry, Gozaburo isn't going to hurt you, he will think that I did."

Gansley leaned over towards me, and brushed my hair from my eyes. "It is going to be all right. Remember who you are doing this for." Before he had the chance to finish his "encouraging" speech, we both heard the footsteps echoing in the hallway. It couldn't be him could it? It had barely been five minutes!

Thinking quickly, Gansley reached down and unbuttoned my jeans. 'Appearance is everything' he once told me, but I think he may have taken it too far.

Straddling my lap, he leaned down and placed his hand below my chin, tilting my face up to look at him. He held it in place until the door opened.

"Mr. Kaiba!" Gansley exclaimed.

"Don't stop for me, I'm just settling in. I'm not ready for the boy yet." Gansley and I looked at each other in shock, what was he supposed to do?

Gozaburo sat in one of the armchairs that faced the bed. He stared at Gansley expectantly. I found myself mimicking his gaze. I was gagged and tied to a bed, so I would be subject to Gansley's decision, whatever it turned out to be.

"Please continue as you were, don't let me interrupt."

"Oh no sir, I couldn't-" Gozaburo cut him short. "Why not? Did you suddenly become shy?"

I stared at Gansley, silently pleading with him. He couldn't do anything, so why was I nervous? My breath picked up and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.

"I don't want to give the boy a heart attack. Just look at him, his is all ready hyperventilating." Gansley nudged me secretly, on the side that Gozaburo couldn't see, and I knew that was my cue to start acting. I forced my body to shake, and made each breath shorter.

"Then leave, obviously you have more important things to do than to help me when I ask." Gozaburo spat out.

"Sir, that isn't what I meant. . ." Gozaburo stopped him once again. "Just go."

Gansley nodded, stood up and left the room. I cursed him for leaving me in such a vulnerable position.

Gozaburo muttered, flipping through some papers in his hands. Anger seemed to radiate from him, making my situation worse.

* * *

End chapter!

I know it is short, not even a thousand words, but I wanted to keep the next chapter from being a cliff hanger, so this one had to be short. So, if you can't tell, Gansley isn't a bad guy, not really.

**Preview: **Kaelyn takes action to keep Seto's cover a secret, and Seto heads to the palace to guide the Ruler through his palace. Action packed chapter!

REVIEW PRETTY PLEASE!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five-

Hello readers! Here is chapter five. And I realise that many people don't like reading stories with OCs having the main POV, but for this chapter, that is just the way it works. Kae has to know somethings that Seto can't know, thus, Kaelyn's POV. However, it is only that way for the beginning half of the chapter.

Also, after reading this chapter, you might have a better understanding as to why I didn't add Kae's scene to the last chapter. It doesn't seem to work that way, and without Seto's portion, it is just dull.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, however, I do own Kaelyn.

* * *

**Kaelyn's POV**

Was the Ruler so powerful that he didn't feel the need for guards? From my hidden position, I counted ten guards. That would be simple to break into. They weren't even searching the people who walked in, what if someone had a gun or something? Then what would happen.

Hm. There's an idea.

"Agent 107?" The voice from behind me pulled my gaze away from the poorly guarded palace.

"Were you followed?"

"No. What is this meeting about? You realise that every time you bring me out here, it compromises my cover?"

I stared at the man in front of me. I hadn't known him for long, he made himself known to me nearly six months ago, when Gozaburo moved to Egypt. He never explained how he discovered my identity, but I assumed he went through my agency. With the proper resources, he wouldn't have had a problem hacking into our server and finding my location. If he had gone through the server, he would have found my file, and read about my cautious manner of work. This is why I assumed we kept identities a secret, as my file only said, "Agent 107."

"This is an emergency. Were you aware that the Ruler is receiving a tour from the designer of the palace tomorrow morning?"

"Yes, a tour to show all the passages and corridors that he hasn't seen, and to explain the layout, which Mr. Kaiba had more than a few questions about. Why is this important?"

Leaning against a side of the small store I was using for shelter, I explained, "The designer of the palace is Subject One. You and I both know that this interaction cannot occur. I called this meeting so we could come up with a solution to this problem, one that me must arrive at quickly."

The man across from me appeared confused. "He managed to design the building? That is quite impressive, but what else is to be expected from the elder Kaiba brother?"

"Yes, yes, his awesomeness is overwhelming," I waved away his compliment to Seto as I continued, "Now, how do we keep him from the Ruler?"

"What did you have in mind Agent?"

"A distraction. Nothing simple, I am talking a huge display of military power, one that no one prevent or predict."

My inside man scoffed at my suggestion. "A huge display of military power? And where do you suppose we come across such an army?"

I smiled. "What army? Who would dare take a stand against the most powerful man on earth? No, what I am talking about is an illusion, a way to make the Ruler believe that there is an attempt being made on his life."

He gazed at the palace, choosing to remain silent.

I waited patiently. Patience was an important part of my career. Hours of my life had been spent waiting; for meetings, cilents, targets, intell, whatever the case was, I never rushed things. With experience came the knowledge that when people feel pressure, operations go badly. And they turn bad quickly.

Yet, patience only goes so far. He didn't move for a long time, or at least, what felt like a long time. I wasn't sure as to the exact time, but the sun didn't move, so too much time couldn't have passed. With this long pause, I feared that he wouldn't agree to my plan, possibly choosing to pull support from my case. My head was spinning with these thoughts until, he finally turned his head back to me.

"You want to fake an assassination?"

I suppressed the urge to smile, trying to maintain as professional as possible. "Absolutely."

_**.-. The Next Morning .-.**_

When staging an event you don't want people to know about, going in at night is not necessarily that best course of action. It is expected, security is heightened, and shadows don't provide as much cover as people would like to assume. I have found that going in just as the largest crowd of the day arrives. That way, you have an excuse for being there, an unspoken one of course. Most people would just believe that you were there for work, not to try and assassinate the most powerful man on the planet. Another good point is that in a large crowd, you are less likely to stand out, which was a spy's greatest asset.

Seto walked beside me. I barely knew the teen standing to my left, but I could read him easily. The clinch of his fist, the twitch of his mouth, the hesistation in the normally proud stride, he was nervous. It was an understandable emotion under the circumstance; if anything went wrong today, everything we had worked for would have been pointless.

"How long do I have?" He asked, glancing down at me.

I had done a great job with the subtle differences to his appearance. I added a slight heel to his boot, and an insole, together adding just over an inch to his height. I couldn't find any color contacts, but I decided to pick green tinted clothing to draw away from the sharp blue of his eyes. Since Kimo demanded that he cut his hair, I trimmed it, styling it nicer than he normally wore it to work. As the icing on the cake, I managed to get a natural looking wave to form in his hair. It wasn't the best cover, I was still upset that he wouldn't let me pierce his ear.

"Thirty minutes, maybe a bit more. So, I'm going to set up. Just make sure you stay on the right side of the room. Avoid the door Gozaburo will be coming through, do not go within fifteen feet."

"I know," He paused, as if he forgot what he was going to say. "Kelli."

I laughed quietly, as not to draw attention to us. "Yes, Kelli Dallat, you can't forget Ryoko."

"You are losing time, Kelli. Go get ready."

I nodded, subconsciously checking behind my shoulder to ensure that I wasn't being followed.

Leaving the designer behind me, I moved stealthily across the room and to the servant's entrance. Seto had showed me the blueprints the previous night, and I had memorized the necessary paths. First the servants quarters, then a left up a staircase. I took the stairs two at a time, jogging to gain time.

While designing the layout of the palace, Seto set up small mazes within the walls. Even an occasional hidden passageway. I moved through a maze, entering doors that were locked, that Seto had the only key to. It seemed overly cautious, but I appreciated the measures he took to stay discreet. It was something that I would have done as well, designing things to my greatest advantage, even if it was incredibly difficult. Which I knew it was.

I had been there while Seto was struggling to create the blueprints for the large, and quite impressive, building. He spent days debating over the best ways to lay the rooms out, so it didn't seem odd that a certain dungeon or bedroom was out of place. Secret passages were more difficult. Why would there need to be any? What need did the Ruler have to hide? Seto worked endlessly until a perfect design had been formed from the sheets of sketches.

One turn after another led me into the more private sections of the palace. I was no longer in the servant's quarters, but closer to the quest suites. There was a space between the two, a series of rooms that seemed to serve no purpose, unless you were trying to reach a secret corridor. Which I was.

It wasn't very well hidden. In fact, it was hidden so badly, one might say that it was in plain sight. A door stood in one room, but this door didn't have a knob. It was sealed shut, impossible to open. That is, impossible if opening the door was the same as opening every other door in the palace. This one opened backwards, the hinges weren't really attached to the frame, and it slide right open. Clever, yet simple. My kind of plan.

This door led to many other doors, none of which were important. I was in search of the last door on the right, the one by the table with the rock on top. No idea why Seto chose a rock, but it certainly was memorable.

The last doorway on the right wasn't really a door. It was more of a hole in the wall; small, but it would get the job done.

I pulled a bag from its spot around my waist. Lots of women were now carrying them as purses, and mine went unnoticed.

I had managed to smuggle a large amount of equipment into the palace, everything I would need to complete my objective. That is, my end of the agreement. I only had to set up half of the display, the man inside would have to do the rest.

Taking a deep breath, I crawled into the small hole. It was dark, cramped, and perfect for my mission. I knew at the end I would find a sliding door, high above the palace throne room. This is where my device would have to be constructed and hidden until the time came to activate it.

Working as quickly as possible, I built the tool for my fake assassination. It was complicated, every minute detail had to be exactly positioned, otherwise, I could accidentally hit a civilian. Which would be terrible. I knew that Seto would be standing to the right of the door, and I may have overcompensated for that fact by moving the aim a bit to the left. I had practiced the assembly of the device last night, but I hadn't actually fired it. I prayed silently that this would work.

* * *

**Seto's POV**

Kaelyn hurried off, heading for the servants quarters. The path she had chosen was one I had created for her use. Many of the doors were locked, but they were so inconspicuous that I doubted anyone would ever notice.

"Ryoko! This room is not suitable for the Ruler's arrival, something must be done!"

I hated Kimo, but I spun slowly to face him with a concerned expression.

"What is wrong with the room? It is exactly how we planned for it to look."

"That is just it! I think we made some mistakes in the decorations, or the layout. And are you sure the throne is supposed to be facing the door? The window seems awfully right at the moment."

"Didn't the Ruler arrive yesterday? If he didn't mention the room then, I'm sure he is fine with it. The throne is in the right spot, the angle is perfect. Besides, don't you think the Ruler has more important thing on his mind than if the vase in the corner is in the center of the table?"

"The vase isn't centered? You, servant over there! Make sure everything is centered on each table!" Kimo rushed to the corner that I mentioned and yelled at the servant, ordering him to move the vase multiple times.

I fell against a wall, waiting. My heart was beating quickly, it was making me light-headed. But I understood why, I was nervous. It was an acceptable fear. If anything went wrong, my life would be over. Mokuba's life would be over. Kaelyn's life would be over.

A small movement caught my attention. It was barely noticable, a panel high up on the wall moved slightly to on side, created a dark slit where it used to be. I glanced around to make sure no one had seen the movement, and I didn't see anyone looking at it. But this didn't mean my nerves weren't calmed.

What would I do, if Kae's plan didn't work? What if he just waved the assassination attempt off as nothing and made me stay? Kae may have changed the way I look, but it wasn't as though I had undergone plastic surgery. I was still me, even if I did go by a different name. Gozaburo would know, then Mokuba would be killed, and I'd follow soon afterwards.

Why couldn't I be a normal person? Why did I have to get adopted by the worst individual in existence? One mistake as a child has followed me my entire life, what I wouldn't give to repeat that day. To have just watched as Gozaburo donated to the orphanage, to have stood by and let him get his publicity.

I stayed in this mindset for a good while, wasting time until the climax of the day would begin. It had be soon, thirty minutes had never seemed so long.

The door to my left opened, and I watched as heads turned to see who was coming through. A sigh escaped my lips when I saw that it was just Crump, coming out to talk to Kimo. I was close enough that I could make out enough of their conversation to understand what they were discussing.

"Mr. Kaiba. . . out in five. . . have everyone ready . . . doesn't what anything. . . away from his entrance." Crump instructed.

"Of course. . . we are ready. . . whenever he decides to come. . .five minutes then?" Kimo responded.

"Just be ready. . .not going to rush him. . . no need to anger him . . . wants his appearance to be perfect. . . don't mess up."

I fought to control my breathing, and my heart rate skyrocketed. It was almost time, the moment of truth, life or death moment, every cliche seemed to apply to this situation.

Crump exited the room and Kimo came over to me, face flushed from excitement.

"Mr. Crump says that everyone needs to be assembled now! Gather everyone, make ready, the Ruler is coming shortly!"

I knew I should move, he had given me an order, I was supposed to obey, but I couldn't make myself shift from the spot on the wall. My body frozen in place while I tried to override the anxiety taking control.

Kimo waited for me to move, to react to his words, but the reaction never came.

"Ryoko, are you going to get ready? I know meeting the Ruler of the World can be nerve-racking, but you have to push through it. I have met him on many occasions, and he isn't too disagreeable of a man if you just follow his every order. Once, back when he own his own business and I worked for him, he told me what an excellent security-"

"I'm fine." I managed to force out, desperately hoping to end the ridiculous story he was entering into. Why would I want to hear about an event that I had witnessed. And I knew the truth about the comment Gozaburo had made as well. It was sarcastic, he said it after Kimo had let a hobo wander around the building for hours, scaring the employees before finally falling asleep in the fourth floor break room.

"Then get to work! We just have a few minutes to prepare."

I nodded my agreement, and took back control of my movements. Only by body went through the actions of gathering all people in the room together, my mind was far off. Every instinct told me to run, to escape before I could be caught. There was still time, I could run through the servants hall and exit through the left wing secret passage, that would led me to the exit by the waterfall in the back. From there I could take the garden path that connects to the door in the east wall of the palace. I would just have to run a few miles back to the house. But then I would have to pack and leave since Gozaburo would obviously know it was me. Kaelyn would be trapped in the palace, and then I would truly be alone on my quest to rescue Mokuba. Where would I be then?

"Attention everyone!" Kimo shouted, standing near the door. "The Ruler and Conqueror of the World is coming through these doors in any second, and I need the highest respect from each and everyone of you! Ryoko, front and center!"

I walked as close to Kimo as I dared. Kaelyn's warning to keep to the right side of the room were heavy in my mind, and I was more worried about that than being in direct sight when Gozaburo walked in.

Luckily, Kimo was too excited to notice my distance. As the door opened, I held my breath. One after another, the members of the Big Five walked in, and I clenched my teeth when Gansley entered in last. Finally, Gozaburo walked through the doors.

Everyone in the room wasn't sure how to react. Kimo had said to be respectful, but what did that entail? I could tell that some wanted to clap, while others were almost ready to bow down. For obvious reasons, I could assume Gozaburo would prefer the last.

My breath froze in my lungs, and my heart seemed to jump from my chest to my throat. I formed fists to prevent my hands from shaking, and found myself disgusted at my weakness. He was just a man, an all powerful man, but a man none-the-less. A man who had destroyed my life, kidnapped my brother, and by doing so, taken every possible thing from me that he could have stolen. I had every right to have such anger and fear dwell inside me, who could expect me not to?

He looked around the large room, seemingly uninterested in who was in his presence. I turned my head down, hoping he would overlook me, at least, until Kae decided to take action.

'_What are you doing, attack him all ready. It can't have taken this long. You practiced so much, I need you to pull through for me Kaelyn.'_

I was worried, it was taking so long, she said that it would be quick, that I would be able to run almost immediately, what is going on-

That was when the small explosions began to sound all throughout the room.

Instantly, people panicked, running frantically around, only to be stopped by an explosion and be forced to run another way. I pretended to duck on the right side of the throne, while really watching the panel on the wall. It was still open, but I saw something that I hadn't seen before, was that-

A round of fire answered my thoughts. How had Kae managed to bring a machine gun into the palace, where did she hide all the pieces?

"Everyone!" Gansley's voice rung out over the shots, "exit the nearest door!"

I was surprised. Why would Gansley tell people to leave? And why wasn't Gozaburo reacting in the least? He simply stood there, but I could see the bullets deflect around him.

I had never seen his powers in action. Honestly, I had heard that he had some, and I knew what the Book could do, but seeing it was a shock. I guess that I just didn't know what I was up against, and to sit here and watch as bullets darted around him, none of them coming in contact with their target.

"Ryoko." A sharp whisper from behind, I spun around, hoping that it was Kae, and to my immense relief, it was.

"What are you doing just standing here? Now is the time to run, not sit around and watch while the Ruler stands there!"

I nodded, and she took my hand as we ran through the mix of explosions, bullets, smoke, and people. I didn't look back as we left through the main entrance. I didn't want to see Gozaburo's smug face as the attempt at his life had failed. I couldn't handle that.

The courtyard was crowded, people were still rushing to get out, and many were clustered in groups trying to determine the cause of the attack. Kae and I followed the panicking crowd, and exited through the gates.

We didn't run after that. What was the point? We knew what was happening inside, and that it wouldn't be long before they realized what had happened. It was important to get away, but running for too long might draw unwanted attention. So we walked back to my house.

"How did you possibly manage to sneak a machine gun into the palace?" I asked when I felt we were a safe distance from the palace, and nosy listeners.

"The guards don't search people when they enter, have you not noticed that? I think Gozaburo is so confident in his powers that he doesn't see the point. And after that display inside, I am starting to understand his arrogance."

"Not one of the bullets hit him, Kae. They moved out of his way. What kind of powers could that book have given him?"

"Well, obviously he has the ability to control bullets as they are fired. But I'm assuming that isn't one of the more impressive powers."

We walked in silence for the remainder of the trip. My mind was spinning with what had just occurred. She had done it, she got me out of my meeting with Gozaburo. The one thing that I believed was impossible, she managed to pull of in a matter of hours. I could easily see why the FBI hired her. She was very good at her job.

But on the other hand, I couldn't help but think about how I had to rely on someone else to cover me. Again. Why couldn't I handle my own problems? It had never been a problem before I met the geek squad, and now I can't seem to work through any issue without someone having to step in. When did I become such a weakling?

I forced my mind on more pressing matters. What did Mokuba care if I needed help to save him? Shouldn't he just be happy that I was capable of doing so, no matter what the means were? After all, that was what truly mattered, Mokuba's rescue, my pride could wait.

* * *

End Chapter!

This is the longest chapter I have written in ages! It doesn't look that long, and in the grand scheme of things, it isn't. But for me it is. I like to think that my chapters will get longer and longer until I finally have crazy long chapters that take people hours to read. How do you people have the time to type that much?

**Preview of Chapter Six: **Seto gets some new house guests from America, (You can take a guess if you'd like, but no, its not Yugi.) and Kaelyn meets with her inside man, who tells her that Gozaburo knows what really happened.

Reviews please?


	6. Chapter 6

READERS! So, this is most definitely the longest chapter I have written. This means I deserve reviews. However, this also means that it will be longer between each update, since my chapters keep growing in length. But I suppose it is worth it if you really enjoy the story. I like long-ish chapters. Too long is just annoying. Maybe from now on they will be between 4000-7000 words, how does that sound?

_I just made a new AIM account, just for talking to any reviewers who want to talk. It is _LendingDreams_. Add me to your buddy list so we can talk, but let me know what your name on this site is so I don't get confused!_

Disclaimer: I own Kaelyn. And that covers it. Nothing else is mine. Suing me would be mean.

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**Seto's POV**

I laid in the floor of the living room for a long time. It had been two days since the attack on Gozaburo, and I still was just waiting for something to happen. Anything, it was awful, the suspense of the situation, but I couldn't do anything. Kae said that we needed to wait it out, to see how Gozaburo would react; unfortunately, nothing was happening. She hadn't had word from her inside man, and the only information we could find were from the rumors on the street. And those were just overly exaggerated stories from the attack. '_Seventeen gunmen came rushing in!' 'A swarm of American SWAT teams filed into the room!' 'A knife man attempted to assault the Ruler!' _Crap like that was utterly ridiculous, yet, people continued to spread the tall tales.

I hadn't gone back to work. Chances are, they would try to reschedule the tour, and I wasn't going to risk that happening. So I stayed at home, occasionally going out to market to get food or water, keeping my face hidden.

We couldn't think of our next move. I wasn't able to continue my job, which meant that I lost access to the palace. The blueprints weren't going to help me any longer, after the attempt, they would have changed up the locks, doubled the guard, posted extra security at random places through out the long halls; I couldn't get in. Kae had spent hours examining the outer walls, but there didn't seem to be an available entrance.

I think that was where she had been all day. Leaving me at home to do nothing, absolutely nothing.

Sitting up, I glanced around the room, in desperate search of something to do. I had read all the books in the house, the place was immaculate, it was Kae's night to cook dinner, and I was bored. After spending two days trapped by the spy, I was ready to get out. But I need an excuse. . .

Books. I would need something to keep me occupied. Would that actually work?

Why was I worrying about talking my way out of leaving my house. It was **my **house after all, what was Kaelyn going to do other than get upset? I could leave when I chose, she wasn't my boss.

I grabbed a pair of shoes by the door and quickly threw them on. I had a cloak draped over the table and put that on too. I needed to keep my face covered, and the sun was really hot, I didn't need to be even more cooked than I all ready was. Nearly forgetting my wallet, I had to turn back around and find it buried in the couch cushions.

Once outside, I glanced up at the sky. Large clouds were rolling in, and I mentally cursed. I had maybe an hour before the rain would fall, which meant that I had to find something quickly, or stay home. The choice was evident. I would risk getting wet.

It was maybe a ten minute walk to the main section of the city, and I didn't rush. If I was going to be getting wet anyway, I might as well take my time. The house could wait to be returned to. I strolled along, wasting time and trying to keep my mind clear and away from any thoughts that would take away from this moment.

One year. I lost a year of my life because my step-father decided to destroy my life. He simply couldn't accept defeat, I had won. The company was mine, I earned it, and he was never okay with that. Gozaburo Kaiba didn't have the mentality to just let things go, so he retaliated. Truthfully, all he had to do was hold a gun to Mokuba's head and I would have done anything he said, there was no need to bring the entire world into our fight. My fight.

I missed Mokuba so badly. Even though I didn't see him much when KaibaCorp was still running, I always knew that he was there when I needed him. It was an unspoken understanding that Mokuba and I were supporting of each other, even if it was silently. We had been through everything together, up until this last year. I hated every moment, each day passed by with such excruciating slowness that I felt that my time in Egypt would never end. The days I spent working at the palace were often filled with memories of Mokuba and I, before the time we met Gozaburo. The orphanage home was a terrible place, but at least no one bothered us. There were many times that I loved, things Mokuba and I did that I have never forgotten. He doesn't remember, too young at the time, but I treasured the memories.

I pulled the hood on the cloak up over my head as I entered the town. Many others had their heads covered in the same manner, in preparation for the coming shower. Back in Domino, when people expected rain, they would run home and watch television or play games on the Internet. Now, it didn't phase any of the Egyptians, the rain was a welcome relief from the blazing sun.

As I reached the first stall, the clouds opened up. Some stalls had slight awnings, and I stood underneath one as I looked through the shops merchandise. It was an interesting assortment of jewelry, nothing that I would need, but I wanted to waste time doing nothing. I hadn't had time to myself in a year.

Now that I think about it, it has been far longer than that. Even before this whole Gozaburo-tyrant thing, I never had any alone time. My days had been filled with reports, meetings, designs, stocks, coffee, and more coffee. I stayed in either my office at home or at work, I saw stockholders more than Mokuba, and Mokuba more than anyone else. School wasn't a challenge, and I spent those hours writing reports and meeting points.

"That would have been the type of earring I got you."

Kae stepped under the shelter of the awning and pulled a gold earring out of the pile of jewelry.

"What are you doing? Aren't you supposed to be plotting all forms of rebellious acts or whatnot?" I asked, taking the earring from her hand and throwing the tacky gold down. The shop keeper didn't look happy that he wasn't getting our business.

"I was just walking through, aren't you supposed to be home? Doing all forms of staying hidden?" She rejoindered, fingering a necklace with a large fake ruby carefully.

"You try spending two days locked indoors with nothing to do. It becomes a bit of a pain, not being able to do anything, so I came for a book."

"So, you came to buy jewelry?" She asked, laughing as she walked off. But something about the way she did so seemed to tell me to follow. I did, but not to readily. My alone time was cut far too short, and I wasn't ready to end it.

We walked side by side, and I moved around the puddles that had quickly formed on the ground. Kae simply stepped through them. In her tall boots, the water didn't bother her. Nothing seemed to bother the spy, she would crawl through mud to get the job done.

"Can't you stay at home for just a few more days? Maybe then we will have a concrete plan, or at least have a general idea as to what we are going to do."

"Kae, I'm not going to sit around and let you have all the fun. I am not the sort of person to do nothing all day. What is the worst that can happen? Who is going to be out here? Is Gozaburo going to be roaming to streets shopping on a rainy day?" I asked, slowing my pace as not to pass Kae. She didn't take as large of steps as I did.

"I don't know, but I have plans later today, and I'm heading back to the house to pick up some items, are you coming?"

I stopped walking, and Kae followed suit after taking a few extra steps. She turned to face me. "So I assume that is a no?"

I nodded. "I just need to stay out of the house for a while. It isn't a big deal, if a evil man comes at me with a gun, I'll scream and run. Does that make you feel better mom?"

"Don't get sick." Kaelyn walked off, quickly disappearing around a corner. I didn't watch her leave, I simply went back to mindless shopping.

Mokuba was right. I needed much more alone time. He used to complain almost everyday that I spent too much time working and not enough on myself, and I completely agree. It was amazing to wander aimlessly, looking at things that I never would need, or even consider wanting. Even if my time was spent in the rain, it was worth it. Getting away from the daily pressure of staying hidden and stopping Gozaburo, it was a well-deserved break.

However, I did feel guilty that I wasn't working towards saving my little brother. What would he think if he found out that I was spending my time shopping? I doubted that he would appreciate that fact. But what else would I be doing? Sitting in the floor at home and staring at the roof? Keeping my hands busy has always been my way of relieving stress.

The rain was coming down hard, and I didn't see the person coming at me until it was too late. We bumped into each other, and I muttered a 'sorry' and ignored the apologize of the British man.

It took me two steps to realize that I knew that voice, and I spun around to find its owner. He had all ready disappeared, but I followed the path I felt he was likely to have taken. I figured that since it was storming, he would be trying to get indoors, and he best place for that would be the bar.

I never had actually been inside the bar before, drinking wasn't something I particularly enjoyed, so I avoided it. But I knew where it was, most people around here did. It was loud, and drew a large crowd.

Entering the smokey room, I scanned over the faces, trying to see if I had guessed correctly about the man's location.

There. The farthest table from me, I could see him sit down, across from another man that I knew as well.

Malik gave a short nod as Ryou sat down, pushing a glass of water to him. At least, I assumed it was water. Ryou took it gratefully and pulled a large bag onto the table. They began to talk animatedly about the contents of the bag; I could tell because they kept gesturing to it.

Curiosity was buzzing in my mind. Why were they here? Yugi had said the past item holders were forming a resistance group of sorts in America. So why were two of the members in Egypt?

Taking one hand to my head, I slid the hood off. It was so dark and smoky in the bar that I doubted revealing my face would be a problem.

I made my way to the back of the room, carefully avoiding the groups of drunken men. I had had my fair share of drunkards in my life and didn't feel like crossing paths with anymore. It was difficult, as they were fighting their way to the bar, but I eventually made my way through the noisy group.

Ryou didn't notice me walk up, but Malik did.

"Kaiba?"

I quickly brought a finger to my lips signaling him to be silent. Shouting that specific name in public seemed like a terrible idea. Luckily, no one paid the Egyptian any mind.

"Its Ryoko now." I stated as I slid into a seat at the small table. Ryou didn't look surprised.

"I thought you would follow me. Did you know that you are a very tough man to locate?" He asked, taking a sip of his drink.

"I would certainly hope so. I probably wouldn't be alive otherwise. Now tell me, what are you two doing in Egypt?"

Malik answered the question, and I noticed Ryou pull the bag protectively closer to him. I chose to ignore it at the time being, but it wouldn't be completely forgotten.

"Things are slow in America. We ran out of things to do, and Ryou and I wanted to be in the action. It was pretty obvious that you would be in the center of things, so we came here."

I was actually glad they did come. Not just because I needed help, but because I had been wondering about the group in America and wanted updates. I pressed for information.

"So, what exactly has been going on overseas? It has been a year since I have spoken to anyone over there."

"At first we just had to get everyone together and find a safe place to live." Ryou looked around to make sure that no one was listening. "The Ruler," Here he rolled his eyes, "came after us. He is a vindictive man isn't he? We only managed to get a bit of information from the men we captured, but it turns out that he is afraid we are going to try to reclaim the items."

"You forgot the freaking attacks." Malik added.

"Oh, sorry. He took very drastic measures. Domino has been destroyed, he blew it off the maps, quite literally."

I had to take a second to let that sink in. He blew up the entire city? That meant that everything I had known my entire life was gone. The house I lived in with my parents, the orphanage, my mansion, KaibaCorp, school, it was destroyed. When this was over, where would Mokuba and I go?

"So we moved." Ryou continued. "But it seemed that everywhere we went, Gozaburo's men were right behind-"

"It really wears on you, to be running constantly from men who want to kill you." Malik added.

"Yes, well, it felt like we were doing more running than fighting. It got old very fast, but when I brought this up with Yugi, he pushed it to the side. He thought that finding a safe hiding place should be our top priority. But if there wasn't a Ruler, then there would be no reason to hide. It didn't make sense."

I nodded my agreement. He made a valid argument, but I didn't want to agree with him. I knew that I should, but I still felt that saving Mokuba was the most important thing, even if stopping Gozaburo was necessary.

"So, Ryoko, what have you been doing down here?"

"Nothing that I can talk about in public. Where are you two staying?"

Malik and Ryou exchanged a questioning glance. What couldn't they tell me?

"On the east side of town. It isn't much, we didn't have enough cash to get anything better, but it works for shelter and all." Malik answered.

"My house is closer, we can head there if you'd like." I offered only because I was sick of being in the bar and was getting sick from the smoke.

"I would like that. I believe that we still have a good deal of things to discuss." Ryou said, grabbing his bag and standing up. Malik did the same, pulling a zip-up hooded sweatshirt off the back of his chair.

We left the bar, thankful that the storm had let up enough that we could see clearly. I didn't pull the hood back up over my head, such a light rain didn't phase me, and the streets were nearly empty, so there was no one to hide from.

It wasn't until I was half way home that I realized that I didn't get a book, or anything to entertain myself with. Maybe I could come back tomorrow, that is, if Kae didn't chain me to the couch or something. I wouldn't put it past her.

"So, this is the new mansion?" Malik teased when we had reached our destination. Ryou's glare scolded him, but I let it slide.

"This is it. Now, I'm not sure if she is here, but I have a girl staying with me. A word to the wise, don't make her angry." I instructed, then walked in the front door, which Kae had left unlocked again.

"You have a room mate? That doesn't seem like you at all, Kai- Ryoko." Ryou commented, and I explained the reasoning.

"No, but she is helping me rescue Mokuba, so I let her stay with me." I didn't see Kae at first, so I walked into the bedroom where I found her sitting on the bed.

"Kaelyn, I have some people that I would like you to meet." I turned to Ryou and Malik, who cautiously stuck their heads in the doorway. "This is Ryou Bakura and Malik Ishtar, two acquaintances from America."

See eyed them suspiously. "From America? I thought that the docks there were closed, that no one was allowed to leave?"

"That is technically true." Ryou began. "However, Mexico still has a shipping port open. We snuck onto one of the boats, which took us to Morocco. From there we traveled through Algeria and Libya, then up through Egypt. It took about three months total."

"All right, were you here looking for Seto?" Kae pressed. I knew that she was going to push until she got every bit of information out of the two, so I leaned against the wall to wait it out.

"I suppose we always had that in mind. But it wasn't our main reason. We just came to help."

"How did you find him?"

Ryou answered. "I saw him in the city, bumped into him and he followed me."

Kae shifted her gaze to Malik. "Malik Ishtar, the same Ishtar that had the Millennium Rod?"

"That's me. How did you know about that though?"

"I told her, like I said, she is helping me find Mokuba. I gave her all of the relevant facts, which included the information about the Millenium items."

Kae gave me a look for interrupting, but when on with the questioning.

"Weren't you members of the American resistance? What exactly are you doing in Giza?"

Ryou hesitated. Malik looked at the floor. Ryou subtly shifted the bag behind his back. Malik cracked his knuckles.

"Ah," Kae sighed, as if in understanding. "You are telling me tales, you are here looking for Seto aren't you? What is in that bag?"

Ryou pulled it forward, but didn't hand it over. "We were told that the only time we could deliver this was if Seto agreed to join our resistance."

I laughed. "Are you joking? We are doing more than your entire resistance, why would I want to worry about you people?"

"We need your help Seto, and we know that you can use ours. You just have to agree to our agenda, and you get our help." Ryou stated.

"I have my own agenda. I am not getting caught up in your games just for a bag who's contents are unknown. If that is really what you came here for, you can just go back to America. Tell Motou I'm not interested."

Ryou handed me the bag. "Then look what is inside. You may change your mind."

I took the bag from his extended hand. It was heavy, I didn't expect it to be that way, Ryou had carried it as if it weighed nothing.

I threw it to Kae, who seemed just as surprized as I was about the weight. Opening the tie on the top, she pulled out its contents.

"Guns, papers, what is this? A bomb?" She asked, pulling out the items one at a time.

"Yes, the papers are information on the men working in the palace, which guards are on duty at each hour, when the shifts change, things of that nature. There are also fake . and passports. The guns are stolen from Gozaburo's soldiers, and the bomb, that was Joey's idea."

I stared in disbelief at the items on the bed. They actually thought that was enough to get me to join their side? I hired the people that work at the palace, at least, I had a part in it.

"I'm sorry, but I can't help you. And as much as I'd like your help, I need to rescue Mokuba before I do anything. If you want my assistance after that, we can work something out. But Gozaburo is not top on my list."

"We'll talk about it. How about we take the night, then see you in the morning. Where can we meet?"

"Do you know where the church is? The one by the fountain in the city?" Kae asked, collecting the scattered items off the mattress. She placed them neatly into the bag, and handed it back to Ryou.

"Yes. Tomorrow at noon then?" Malik offered, and Kae agreed, saying that one of us would be there.

I walked the two men to the door, making sure to lock it behind them. I needed to remember to talk to Kae about personal security.

She was standing in the doorway of the bedroom.

"I have to go. I finally managed to arrange a meeting with my inside man, and I have to meet him in an hour. Please stay here, I don't need you running into any more acquaintances."

"All right. I will find something to do."

Kae walked by me, grabbing her tote bag as she headed for the door.

"Oh, and Kae," I stopped her before she could leave. "Ask about Mokuba. I really need to know that he is okay."

Kaelyn smiled sweetly. "I can do that."

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**Kaelyn's POV**

The location for the meeting was private. I wanted a public, busy and noisy market or shop, but the man insisted that privacy was important for this particular meeting. But this was a quiet, abandoned section of the time, in which no one currently lived. I hated it, the set-up likely hood was high, but I had no choice. This meeting was necessary towards determining the next step that needed to be taken. Seto was counting on me to follow through.

"Agent 107, I'm sorry that I don't have long to talk, but this is a definite emergency."

"What is the problem?" I asked, standing from the bench I had been sitting on.

"Mr. Kaiba now understands what happened during the attack. He knows who did it, and even more significantly, he knows Seto's alias."

"How is that possible? The subject didn't even have a role in the attempt."

The large man before me shifted as if he was nervous, or maybe impatient. Either way, it put me more at ease. It made me feel like I had the upper hand.

"He matched the date with the attack, and put two and two together. He is an intelligent man, so he looked into Ryoko Tokushima. Later today he is going to raid his house, and you need to get out of there. Immediately."

"I see the problem. I will get Subject One moving right away. But he wanted me to check on his brother's status while you were here."

"Mokuba is doing as well as could be expected. I'm not sure whether the subject will be pleased with this information, but his brother is torturing the guards. Whether it be with sarcasm or stubbornness. He isn't making anyones job simple. He is fighting to the best of his ability, but to answer the question, he just wants to get out of there."

I took the information, and left without another word. If Gozaburo really was going after Seto today, we would have to pack and leave quickly. But where could we go? Ryou and Malik's house was out of the question for now, as we were unaware of the house's location. Buying another house might draw attention, so that too was out. Maybe a hotel, but would those be searched?

The jog to the house seemed to drag on for ages. I couldn't waste time, not when the entire operation was in jeopardy. Maybe Seto decided to take the hour alone to clean and put items away, to make packing more convenient.

Banging on the front door, I waiting impatiently for Seto to open it. When it finally slide open I announced, "He is coming for you."

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End Chapter!

Wow, that took so long to type up! But I am loving my laptop, so maybe updates will come sooner. Now that finals are over, I will have much more time for writing, so keep on the lookout for updates!

**PREVIEW: **Gozaburo raids Seto's house, only to find it abandoned. Seto and Kaelyn determine the next course of action, and Ryou and Malik agree to help. With just a few conditions that is.

So, I was really upset with the lack of reviews for the last chapter, care to make it up to me?

**_REVIEW!_**


	7. Chapter 7

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Chapter Seven – Arose Power

Hey everyone, thanks for the reviews for chapter six. It means a lot and really made me want to write this chapter. Or maybe it was just an excuse to use my laptop. . .

I am SO SORRY! I said that I would update like three weeks ago, but I got swamped with things that came up randomly, and I was out of town this week, so I knew that this needed to be put up. Writer's block is killing me. This chapter is just people talking, so I got bored with it, sorry!

But I got motivated to finish while on a plane ride home from my trip, so the last thousand or so words were written ten-thousand feet above the ground. Isn't that something?

If you didn't see it on the last chapter, I got a **new AIM account**, just for **talking to reviewers**. It is **LendingDreams,** add me to your buddy list and** we can talk**! Who knows? You may get hints as to the rest of the plot. Just be sure to tell me who you are, your account name on the site, so I don't get confused.

Disclaimer: Kaelyn=mine. Yugioh=someone else's.

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**Gozaburo's POV**

"I need three men going through each of the doors and windows. The rest of you form a barricade around the house, no one gets out." I instructed. The men hurried into their positions.

It took me a year, but I had finally found Seto. He had been hiding under an alias, which turned out to be his actual name, and was a worker in my palace. **My **palace. How he managed to do that I will never know. It was helpful that Lector had found that passenger manifest, otherwise I wouldn't have known that Seto was the designer.

The designer. That is what bothered me the most. He created my palace. He knew every corridor, each hallway, he picked everything out! What was in the halls of my home that I didn't know about? He could have planted anything he wanted inside and I would be completely unaware.

It wasn't hard, to figure out that Seto was the designer. Why else would that pointless attack be on the one day that I was supposed to meet with the designer of the palace? After a day of discussing the attack, I looked into the name of the designer, and remembered it from the ride to the palace. Ryoko Tokushima. He came over from Domino with Solomon Motou.

"Go!" Someone shouted and men swarmed the house.

I sat back with Gansley and Lector. Johnson, Nesbitt and Crump were working at the palace, quite disappointed that they couldn't come along. I didn't really care. All that mattered was capturing Seto.

"Clear!"

"Clear!"

"Clear!"

Shouts rang throughout the house.

Clear? It couldn't be, I had only found out where Seto was this morning. How could he not be here?

I stormed inside, pushing men out of my way while doing so. The small house was completely empty. It consisted of furniture and walls. It was as though no one had every lived here.

"Search the place, I don't want an inch of this house left unturned. If there is anything here, find it." I ordered.

Walking through the house, I took it all in. This is where Seto had been living for a year. It was only a mile from the palace, how did I not know that he was so close? It was infuriating, he was always one step ahead.

And now that I thought about it, Mokuba knew that he was here. When I showed him the passenger list, he would have realized that it was his brother's name I forced him to read off. He was dead when I got back to the palace, at least, he would be near death.

"Mr. Kaiba," Lector came walking up to me. "You are going to want to see this."

I followed him into the back room, which was the only bedroom in the house. Lector didn't need to tell me what to look at, for on the wall, a large word had been painted in black.

_Late?_

Anger bubbled inside me. Seto was pushing it, mocking my position. But it did prove something. I had a leak, someone told him that I was coming so he could escape. Which of my men was lying to me? Whoever it was, they were going to die. My hit list was growing longer and longer.

"He knew we were coming?" Gansley asked, taking a position to my left. He looked just as confused as I felt, but I didn't let it show. Anger was the more prominent emotion printed across my face.

"Isn't it obvious? And it isn't just that he knew we were coming, he had to have known for a long time. Most likely from the moment we did. Someone told him."

Gansley looked shocked. "You're right. Packing up would have taken time, time he shouldn't have had."

"Did anyone find anything else around the house? Anything that would let us know where he was going?"

"Nothing. He cleaned it perfectly."

I stormed out of the house, fully intending on walking back to the palace. It may have been a stupid idea, but who was going to stop me? I would kill anyone who got in my way, maybe even a few extra, just to vent.

"Mr. Kaiba!" Lector came running up behind me, followed by a few guards. I kept walking forward.

"Mr. Kaiba, where are you going? I am sure that something will come up, Seto isn't perfect, he had to have made a mistake."

Ignoring the man, I kept on, silently fuming. A rat ran across the street in front of me and with a flick of my wrist, it fell dead. I kicked it out of the way.

People who had been on the street ran inside their homes, or the nearest home, trying to get away from me. I didn't blame them, I would be afraid of me too. At this specific point in time, I would kill anything and anyone. If one of those guards decided to talk, they would find their life cut short.

"What is the point of staying at that shack then? He is gone! You saw the message yourself, we were late! Seto outsmarted us again! I am sick of being one step behind that orphan brat!"

Lector stopped walking. I hadn't been paying attention, and slowed down to see what the problem was. A man came rushing over to him, whispering something, and turning away.

"Mr. Kaiba, you are going to want to come back." Lector announced.

"What is it?" I asked, stopping, but not coming back. He could come to me if it was that important. And apparently it was, as he came running back to me.

"One of the men found something."

Hoping for the best, I went back to the house too see guards surrounding the small building, and they parted as I entered.

Gansley came back up to me. "We found this under the mattress in the back bedroom. Unfortunately, it is nothing of Seto's, but we did discover that he has a partner, someone working with him."

I took the items out of Gansley's hands, carefully reading them over. Kelli Dallat? What I was holding were fake i.d.s, blueprints of the palace, photographs of the workers and guards. Whoever this girl was, she knew what she was doing.

"Is this all there was? No location or personal information? Her name can't really be Kelli Dallat, if Seto changed his name, she would have too. Find out everything about this girl. I want to know who she is, what she looks like, hobbies, favorite color, dislikes, fears; leave nothing out."

"Yes sir." Gansley said, taking the objects out of my hands.

I waited for my guards to gather around me before I left, making a silent promise to myself that I would not be late the next time.

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**Seto's POV**

"Do you not feel strange sitting in the middle of the town with all our belongings?" I asked, sifting on the fountain we were waiting at. Kaelyn didn't answer, she kept her eyes on the east side of the market, waiting for the two men to arrived.

I stared at the sky, wishing I had a watch. Saying that we were meeting Ryou and Malik at noon meant some time in the middle of the day. Using the sun as a clock only went so far, and Kae and I had been sitting here for about an hour now.

Rumors had been circulating about the Ruler raiding a house on the other end of the city. It worried me, I barely made it out of the house in time. By the time Kae and I had packed, making sure to leave nothing behind, hours had passed.

"We can't stay here much longer. People are going to notice." I continued.

"Too bad we have no where to go. Waiting for Ryou and Malik is our only option." She answered, eyes never leaving the east.

"I have something to tell you." She began, and I waited for her answer, which took a long time to come. "I left things in the house. Information about myself, at least, the Kelli Dallat version of me. I hid them under the mattress, with the small hope that he would place some focus on me, and take it way from you. I am hoping that it buys us some time, even if it is just a few days."

"And you think that will work? It won't just motivate Gozaburo even more to find me now that he knows I have help?"

"I don't know the man nearly as well as you do, Ryoko. But I think this will help, I have been working in the field for a long time, people are most always the same. They want to know about things which are a mystery to them. The Ruler doesn't know who I am, so he is going to want to find out."

"There they are." I didn't point, all though I felt the urge to. Kae had most certainly seen them all ready.

We didn't stand. They walked over to us, taking a seat on the fountain beside.

"Have you made up your mind? We need to know whether or not we can count on your help." Ryou asked, not turning to look at us as he spoke. He was trying to draw unwanted eyes towards our small group.

"Yes. Is there a more private place we can speak?" I asked. "I would prefer to get off these streets."

"I suppose that you can come to our house, we were going to head back there after this meeting. Can I ask why you have most all your possessions with you? Is it your purpose to draw every thief in the city over-?" Malik questioned.

"We will discuss that later. Can we leave know?" Kae cut in, standing and taking two bags in her hands.

Malik nodded and followed Kaelyn's example. He too took two bags. Ryou did the same.

I grabbed the remaining luggage, throwing on coat over my shoulder. "Lead the way."

Kae and I walked behind Ryou and Malik. A silent hung over us as we traveled a long the unpaved road. I couldn't help but look around at the city, which I had called my home for the past year. And even though I had been here so long, I never really took the time to examine my surroundings. It wasn't as though I couldn't find my way, but the actually details had escaped my notice.

It was rather sad, the way things were in comparison to before Gozaburo's rule. The first few months had been the worst for the world. People had panicked. Buildings had been attacked, raided until there was nothing left. During that process, cities collapsed. Homes disappeared, walls fell in. It seemed as though time had spun backwards, the world no longer looked as it was supposed to.

How is it that with all the knowledge we have in this world, no one has found a way to fix this problem? A virus had destroyed all technology, and since computers were gone, that wiped out everything that wasn't powered by a battery. But even if though that is the case, could no one rebuild it? Even if starting from scratch was required, why hadn't someone tried? With the thousands of engineers and scientists on the earth, there was no excuse.

Another thing that seemed wrong was that there were just a few people crossing the streets. Instead of a bustling market place, the city appeared abandoned. There were a couple men doing the necessary errands, but Kaelyn was the only girl.

It took another fifteen minutes to reach their house, which I found was the same style as the one Kae and I had been living in for the past few months. I had found that there were just a few larger houses in the city. Most just had a few rooms, not that the larger ones were nicer anyway.

"Be careful to keep your face low. We don't really trust the neighbors." Malik instructed. Kae didn't listen. She strode inside, head held high. Ryou stared into her back with an annoyed expression, but chose the wisest option to stay silent.

Once inside, I slid the coat off my shoulder and dropped it over the back of a couch. Kae had simply laid the suitcases down in the entry and took a seat. I helped Malik move them to a spot that wasn't in the way.

"Why did you bring all your luggage with you?" Ryou asked, wasting no time to bring up our previous conversation.

"His step-father found our house," Kae began, "we had to pack quickly."

"I heard rumors that the Ruler had attacked a house this morning. I didn't even stop to think it was yours. Did you get everything?" Ryou asked.

"Most everything." I answered, avoiding Kae's glance. I was still irritated that she left information, important information, at our old house.

"Most?" Malik said, catching onto my off-hand comment to Kaelyn. We moved onto the next subject.

"I thought about your offer yesterday." I started, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room. I hadn't talked to Kaelyn about the offer, but my mind was made up on the subject.

"After thinking about it all night, I came to the conclusion that I think will work best for all of us. If you can give me your assistance in rescuing Mokuba, I'll do whatever you tell me to do. I'll join the resistance, I'll walk right up to the palace gates if you ask me to. But Mokuba is priority one, that will not change."

"I figured that you would say something along those lines. And I agree, we'll get you Mokuba, or we'll do our best." Ryou responded.

"Seto, can we talk?" Kae asked, standing and taking hold of my arm as if she was going to drag me into the back rooms for a private argument. It was obvious that she didn't agree with my choice. However, a knock put an end to her anger.

"Boys! I brought you some bread I just cooked! Can I come in?"

"Kaiba, go to the back, Kae, you will need to stay out here. That is Mrs. Jiden, she must have seen you come in, there is no other reason for her to stop by." Then, in a louder tone, Malik said, "Of course! Just let me unlock the door for you."

I shook Kae's hand off me, then jogged to the back. There were only two rooms, and I chose the nearest one, which looked like Ryou's bedroom. It was immaculate, with pictures of the city hung on the walls, calendars with writing covering every inch, and letters from Yugi with updated information on the American resistance. I didn't look at any for more than a few seconds, instead, I pressed my ear to the door to better hear the others in the main room.

"Well, who is this?" Mrs. Jiden.

"Oh, this is my friend-" Malik paused, "Becky. She is visiting from Cairo."

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Jiden isn't it?" Kaelyn.

"Yes dear. Now Ryou, where can I put this bread?"

"Over on the table. It looks delicious." Ryou.

"It is my secret recipe, passed from ten generations ago from mother to daughter."

I listened to the pointless conversation for at least twenty minutes. They simply talked about the weather, gossip, and other things that I had no interest in. I ended up sitting on the floor with my back propped against the frame. I nearly missed an important piece of the conversation because I was bored, but one word caught my attention. _Ruler._

"I heard the Ruler stormed a house this morning on the other end of town. Rumor has it that a enemy of his had been living there, but you can't trust everything you hear on the streets. But this information came from a trusted friend of mine, so I have no reason not to believe it." Mrs. Jiden said, and all though they were speaking in doors, she spoke in a tone so low I could barely hear it.

"That is interesting. But I try not to listen to gossip." Ryou.

"Hmph. Everyone listens to gossip, especially of this sort." She stopped speaking, at least, I couldn't hear her after that point. But a few seconds later, Malik spoke up.

"No, no one else is here. Thank you for the bread, this has been a nice visit."

"You might as well just tell me to leave with that attitude." Mrs. Jiden spat.

"So leave." Ryou stated.

That was the last piece of the conversation I heard, and a few minutes later, Malik came and opened the door.

"She's gone, you can come out now."

"Why did you get angry?" I asked, following Malik back to the living room, sitting back on the couch.

"She saw you come in and was asking about you, we had to get her out. I told you we don't trust the neighbors, and now you can see why. They are nosy, and talk too much."

"We need to forget about Jiden and figure out what we are going to do next." Kaelyn said, and I agreed.

"Malik and I had a few ideas actually." Ryou said, walking over to a shelf in the far corner. He shuffled through some papers, pulling a few from the bottom of the stack.

"These are our plans for breaking in the palace. It requires three people, but we can do it with four, we'll just have two people enter at the same point. Look over the blueprint Kaiba."

I took it from his hand, carefully examining his diagram.

"It says here that one person is coming in through a side door. Why is that? Mokuba should be on the other end of the palace."

"Actually, we were hoping that while two of us went to find Mokuba, someone else could try to find the Items." Malik said, slowly testing each word as he spoke.

"You want Mokuba to be the distraction? A scape goat while someone does what you came here to do the entire time?" I asked, feeling my anger begin to rise.

"Seto," Kaelyn began, "I like the plan. It is clever. Let me guess, one person grabs the attention of the guards so the rest of the paths are clear?"

Ryou nodded, but I stared at Kae in disbelief.

"You are agreeing to this?"

"Seto. It is a good idea, we can knock out two things at once, possibly putting an end to all this Ruler crap. And by the looks of this diagram, it just might work."

"If we go through with this, I am going to find Mokuba, I don't care who is the distraction, but I am going to find my brother."

"No, you're not." Kae stated.

"What are you talking about. The agreement was that Mokuba was my priority, why shouldn't I be the one to go find him?"

"For the very reason that he is your priority. If you are more concerned with Mokuba than your welfare, this plan will not work. I'm sorry Seto, but you would become a liablity. I think you and Malik should go for the items, Ryou can find Mokuba and I'll be the distraction."

Ryou agreed. Malik did the same.

"I don't trust any of you to get the job done right? If you are more concerned about stealing the items than you are in rescuing Mokuba, I'm not taking any part in this." I said, standing as if I was going to leave, which I obviously wasn't, I currently was homeless.

"Kaiba, you cannot do this without our help. This plan will save your brother, and it might save everyone else too. Please help us." Malik said, making sure my path to the door was cut off.

Looking around at the faces of the others, I couldn't help but think what a sorry team we made. Three boys and a girl couldn't possibly take down the most powerful man in the world. The best we solution I could think of is to find a safe hiding place to live out the rest of our lives.

"Can you promise me that you will do everything in your power to rescue my brother?" I asked Ryou, determined to leave if he said no.

"Of course. I'm not just going to leave a kid in such a terrible place."

I sighed, taking my seat and grabbing the pages from Kae's hands to look at once again.

"Then let's work this plan out."

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Once again, I am SO SORRY for the delay. This chapter did not want to be written. Thank you for the reviews on the last chapter.

For the record, Kae and Seto are not romantically involved in any sort of way. I pretty much hate writing romances, and I love Kae too much to make her all girly.

**Preview of the next chapter: **Gozaburo is angry that Seto broke into the palace, and takes measures to ensure that Mokuba will not be rescued.

Leave me some nice comments! They are always appreciated! (Plus, if you review my stories, I might review yours. If you are a dedicated reviewer!)


	8. Chapter 8

Hey everyone! So remember last chapter in my Author's Note when I said I wrote the end of that last chapter on an airplane? Well, I wrote these chapters back to back since I was bored, hoping that I wouldn't take so long to update again.

I doubt if anyone has looked at this, but I just noticed that Arose Power is all ready half the length of From the Dead. I knew this story was going to be long, but WOW! This is only chapter eight!

I cannot believe it took this long to type this chapter. And I hate to say, but I got sidetracked. A friend of mine made me read DeathNote, and now I can't seem to stop. Stinking manga...

Disclaimer: This fact will not change. I do not own Yugioh.

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**Mokuba's POV**

My room was boring. After Gozaburo questioned me for hours, I was moved into a room in the basement of the palace. It consisted of a bed and a bathroom. And that was the extend of the room. No tables or chairs, no books or windows. Just a bed. I assumed that all the cells in the room were like this one, which I really hated. There is only so much you can do while sitting in a empty room.

The walls weren't brick as I would have imagined, but some strange wood paneling stuff that I had never seen before. It was like rock solid, but it didn't look harder than wallpaper. There were one hundred and sixty-four separate pieces that made up the paneling, and I know this because I counted them fifteen times.

The roof was completely flat, unlike the popcorn ceilings that many homes had. In my bedroom at the old mansion, I used to try to count all the small bumps. But I couldn't even do that, so I was really bored.

At one point, I tried moving the bed, just to have something new, but the freaking designer apparently thought it would be fun to screw it to the floor. What was I going to do with a bed? Beat up a guard?

So, I spent my time stretching and doing push-ups, sprints and crunches. Normally, I wouldn't ever think of working out in my free time, but it was just so monotonous to sit in a room all day.

I finished a series of push-ups and collapsed on the floor. I didn't feel like getting up, and I had no reason to, so I stayed put. It was hot in this room, and working out just made me sweatier. The floor was cold against my face, not exactly freezing, but cooler than the room.

A knock on the door made me lift up my head. I knew that it was just a meal, but I was in desperate need of amusement.

"I can't open the door, why do you keep knocking?" I asked, still not getting up.

"It is called manners." Gansley said as he walked in. He had a plate in one hand, and a glass of water in the other. He sat them on the bed, standing above me.

"Why are you on the floor?" He asked, smirking and crossing his arms.

"I figured that since I was going to be in here for a while, I should get to know her. She is very nice, and likes to be called Flora. However, she doesn't like people walking all over her."

"You are really losing it aren't you?"

"You try being stuck in here for a few days. It really takes its toll on a mind. Did you know that the bed is attached to the floor? Who does that, is there a purpose for that decision? And no windows? Is the sun an enemy too?"

"Get up and eat. I have some news for you." He said, nudging me in the stomach until I did as he said.

"Bacon? Nice." I said after taking a look at the plate. Generally, meals were nothing more that scraps from the kitchen, a bowl of soup or something. I don't know how they expected me to live off the crap they feed me, so the occasional 'real food' is pretty awesome.

"I stole some, you are going to be needing the extra food."

I stopped half way through a bite. "What does that mean?"

He sighed, stepping to take a seat beside me. "It means that you are about to be moved into a different room. A worse room than this one, one that Gozaburo feels is more secure."

"Why's that? This room isn't secure enough? Really, it took like fifteen minutes to walk here. And it is crazy hidden." A finished off my bacon, but it seemed to lose its flavor.

"I told you about the attack on the Ruler, Mokuba. What I didn't tell you was that Seto led the attack, well, a friend of Seto's set it up. Gozaburo figured out who it was and is furious that Seto got in so easily. He is taking extra precautions."

"Ick." I paused, taking in his words. "Seto? You didn't tell me that he was even in Egypt, you are talking to him? What the crap? How can you not have told me? My own brother is here, across the globe from Domino and you didn't think it right to tell me? And how do you know it was Seto's friend? What has he been doing? Is he okay? You've actually been meeting with him?"

Gansley cut me off there. "I didn't think it wise for you to know. Gozaburo has been asking you a lot of questions about Seto, and you know that he can tell when you are lying. And I haven't spoken to Seto in person, I've been working through a spy that is helping him with everything."

"A spy! That is so cool! But why hasn't Seto come for me yet?" It hurt to think about it. I had often wondered why he hadn't come for me. And know that I know he has been here, it confused me even more. He had promised me that he was going to come back for me.

"That is what I am going to talk to you about. You see, he is coming. Tomorrow night. I need you to be ready to leave around two in the morning. I put a watch with an alarm in your new room, that way you can keep up with the time. In the far left corner, there is a loose floorboard, the watch is underneath."

"Tomorrow? Really?" I was excited. After all this time, I was going to get to see Seto and get out of this horrid place.

"Yes, but you can't let on to anything. I'm supposed to be taking you to your new room soon, so you have to look all sad and hopeless. If Gozaburo even thinks something is going to happen, the entire plan is going to be ruined, okay?"

"Yes sir!" I gave him a mock salute, to which he rolled his eyes. I then quickly finished my meal.

"And now I'm supposed to take you to your new room."

"How is Seto supposed to find me if I'm being moved today? Won't that just confuse him, I mean, just walking through the place is confusing."

Gansley scratched the back of his head and looked around, as if he were trying to avoid the subject. "Uh- well, I suppose I can- he will- just in case that is a problem- under the circumstances- Mokuba, Seto designed the place." Gansley finally got out. I stared in shock.

"Seto, my brother Seto, designed this entire place? How is that even possible?" I was in shock. There was no way Seto could be that awesome. Gozaburo would have found out really easily, was he not watching the progress of the construction?

"He has been using an alias, well, his real name. The Ruler didn't know it was him until a recently."

"For real, Seto designed the palace. Wow, I have the coolest brother ever."

Gansley pulled me to my feet, fighting off a smile. "We have to go now. So don't fight it, just one more day and you are out of here."

"Fine. But only because Seto is coming. If he weren't, I'd be kicking and hitting the whole way. After all, I am supposed to be upset, am I not?"

I left the terrible little room with Gansley, walking alongside him. That is, unless we passed someone, then he tightened his grip and dragged me down the halls.

"Gansley!" I could feel Gansley tense beside me at Lector's shout. I knew that he was always careful, not wanting to give any clues away that he isn't on their side, and that being around them made him nervous.

"Mr. Kaiba needs to see you now. He said it is urgent."

Gansley gestured to down to me. "I have to put the kid up first."

"No, Mr. Kaiba said now, I doubt he will care if Mokuba comes along. We are going to the Sealed Room."

I had no idea what the Sealed Room was. I assumed that is was well protected, as the name gave me that information, but as to what may be hidden inside, I was lost.

We followed Lector back down the hall, turning back in the way that we had just come from. Back towards the room I'd been locked in for the past three days. Technically, I wasn't really walking, but I kept my mouth closed.

I didn't realize how big this palace actually was. We traveled for at least twenty minutes, turning in and out of halls and doors, and then into some more doors and halls. The journey was endless, and yet, as we began to descend further and further, I knew that we were nearing our destination. Lector had to pull out many keys, around seven doors were locked. My curiosity was growing, and I was really interested to find out what really was in the Sealed room.

"Mokuba. Do not talk. Do not look at anything. Do not make a noise. I won't put it past Mr. Kaiba to slit your throat if he gets angry, and he is all ready upset with certain recent events." Lector ordered.

I just stood there, staring at the ground. What was there to say to that? _Yes sir, I'm going to be a perfect hostage? _But he took my silence as obedience.

"And Gansley, don't forget that Mr. Kaiba is in one of his moods. We have to try to talk him out of the decision he is trying to make."

"What decision is that?" Gansley asked.

"After the attack, he decided that nothing is safe, including the items. He's trying to move them into one of the dungeons. We all tried to explain that if someone could break into the palace, and not just someone, but the exact someone that we were worried about, that they could get into any room. Placing guards is the best option for us, not removal from the most secure room."

I listened carefully to what he was saying. Obviously, he wasn't naming Seto's name, I most likely wasn't suppose to know about him, not that I couldn't have figured it out after that statement. But I could also figure out that Gozaburo was panicking, which could easily play to our advantage.

"That does seem a bit drastic. But I'm not really sure what I can do about it. Let's go on in." Gansley said, and Lector nodded his agreement. Both men, and myself, proceeded into the Sealed Room.

Once inside, Gansley threw me down next to the wall. I knew better than to try anything, so I stayed where I was, trying to appear as small as possible. Gozaburo glared when he first saw me, but I bit my lip and looked down, hoping to keep him from growing angry. When he didn't mention my presence, I took that as a good sign.

"Gansley, do you not think that he can break in here just as easily as he did the main hall? If he designed the palace, he knows his way around, he knows every weakness, each secret passage, he must have set it up so he could get in and out easily." Gozaburo asked, getting right to the subject. I did note that he too didn't want me to know that it was Seto who broke in. What would it matter if I did know?

"Yes. I believe that he set it up so it would be simple to break in and out. However, I do not feel that moving the items is the correct choice in action. Say he was keeping tabs on our actions, a move of this much importance would just draw his attention."

They argued back and forth for quite some time, to the extent that I grew bored of listening. Instead, I allowed my attention to be held by the collection of items lying on the table. All seven millennium items were spread out, along with a box.

I remembered the box, how that was what told Seto that Gozaburo was back. Never before had I gotten a good look at it, actually, I had only seen it once, during Gozaburo's duel with Shadi. Even then I had been far enough away that I couldn't make out any of the details. But now, as I was closer, I could see the engraving on the box.

It came as a huge surprise when I realized that I understood what was written on the surface. I had never seen that language, so why did I know it?

Flashes of Ancient Egypt appeared before my eyes, scenes from Seth's past and last moments stared flashing in front of me. After that, it was very clear that I didn't know the language.

Seth had.

It was part of the memories that Seth had given me. Some secret language that no one was suppose to know. I wonder if I could open it, Seth just had to recite the text, if I did that, could I get the Book of Power? If I got the chance, could I end all of this madness? Putting an end to the reign of Gozaburo Kaiba?

Questions began flooding my head, even to the point that I got a headache from the amount of them. But even with my head pounding, one thought rang clear above all the others.

_Read the last page._

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Okay, so I am really sorry for the long time between updates. And this chapter is much shorter than all the others, HOWEVER! I am going to make up for it with the next update. I don't know when it will be, but I am crazy excited about it. It is going to be the hardest thing I have ever written for this site.

**Preview: **_Seto makes to rescue Mokuba. WARNING!!!!! Character death in the most violent of sorts. . . _

Review and I will update faster. Ish. I am going to be out of town next week, so it will be closer to the end of July.


	9. Chapter 9

Hey everyone, here is the next chapter of Arose Power! I am so sorry for the delay!

So, I warned you in the previous chapter that there would be a character death here. And yes, I was serious. I'm going to try to keep it from being too graphic, meaning, I won't be describing every detail of the unknown person's death.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh, and I take no responsibility for any sickness or suffering that comes as a result from reading this chapter.

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**Seto's POV**

In the shadow of the palace wall, I sat to take a breath. I knew that it would be difficult to get this close without being seen, but never would I have imagined Gozaburo taking such precautions. I had known the man since I was twelve, and in that time, I learned that he liked to rely on himself more than others, so why were there about two-hundred additional guards posted?

Glancing to Malik, I got the '_let's move' _signal, and we continued down the wall. Working with him hadn't been my first option, but it seemed to be the best decision for the group. Kaelyn would make a good distraction, and I trusted Ryou would get to Mokuba. It still bothered me that I couldn't rescue my own brother, but I had to let it slide. Kaelyn was right when she said that I would put Mokuba above logic, my desire to save him would cloud my judgment. Taking the items might possible end Gozaburo's rule, and that was something worth fighting for. If one group failed tonight, and the other succeeded, at least Gozaburo would lose something.

For now, we had to keep to the plan. We had gone over each step multiple times, taking into account every possible flaw that came to mind. Each action had to be timed, if any member of our team failed to do his or her part, we all could fail. The main thing was to keep moving, if something went wrong, time would have to be made up, taking any necessary risks.

"Why aren't there guards at this door?" Malik asked while cautiously glancing over a corner.

"I'm not sure. Is this the one we are suppose to be entering?" I asked. I had been so lost in thought, that I forgot to keep track of our location.

"Yes. I guess Kaelyn set it up for us. I'm not going to argue with an open door."

I didn't agree. We didn't know what was behind that door. The guards could be on the inside, it could be a set up, why were we walking in blind?

Following close behind, I trailed each of Malik's steps. My nerves were setting in, but I found myself more concerned with each of Ryou's actions. It should have been me going in the west entrance, not the British teen. What if he messed up? How did Mokuba know to go with him?

"Seto, did you remember the order of turns we are suppose to take? I forgot to memorize them."

"Of course. Do you want me to lead?"

Malik nodded, taking a step back so I could walk in front of him. I knew these halls by heart, even if designing them wasn't enough, I made sure that I could draw them with my eyes closed. I traced the hallways and room while falling asleep every night. This was the night that I had been preparing for ever since I saw Mokuba trapped under the fallen ceiling back in Domino. I couldn't fail now, even if Mokuba wasn't my objective.

"Okay, so Kaelyn said that Gozaburo was planning on moving the items, but hadn't yet switched their location. So, they should still be in the sealed room. Meaning, we need to take the back route through the sitting room. Right?"

I didn't answer. I knew exactly what I was doing, I didn't need someone telling me how to go about doing my job. Especially when I designed the place I was breaking into. It was as though he was trying to make me feel like an idiot.

The hallways were empty, which surprised me. Did Gozaburo really believe that just because he guarded the outside that the inside was protected as well? It was a foolish action, even for the Ruler of the world, even if he was all powerful.

Passing through room after room, Seto soon began to find it strange that no one was to be found. Certainly Kaelyn hadn't done that good of a job of attracting the guards. Even if she had, someone still would have been left to watch for any other danger. No one was that foolish.

"This is a shortcut, isn't it? If we go through this room, can't be make up some time?" Malik asked.

I nodded. "However, that is going out of our way. We planned to go around. That room was made to be Gozaburo's study, a private area. He could be inside, or nearby. It isn't a good idea."

"Or, he could be in an entirely different section of this **huge** palace, odds are, he would be anywhere but here."

"Malik. There is no point in taking a chance when our plan is perfectly acceptable. Let's keep moving." I said, taking a few steps in the planned direction. Malik didn't.

"You can't go in there!" I whispered sharply. But I hadn't even finished my sentence before he had opened the door and slipped out of sight.

I knew that I shouldn't follow him, we were suppose to keep to the plan at all times. But how could I go on not knowing what happened to him? What if something bad happened while we we apart? Then I would be blamed for whatever tragedy befell him.

Groaning, I turned back to follow the Egyptian through the door.

"I figured that you would follow me." Malik said as I walked in. He was leaning against the wall beside the door with his arms crossed.

"Of course I did. Now, we need to get moving. It was your decision to go this way, so you can lead us through."

"All right, I think I know how to get across. Its left-right-right-pass two-left isn't it?" He asked.

I didn't answer. I was upset as it was that I had to go through a more dangerous path, worried about Mokuba, and on the verge of panicking that Gozaburo was going to walk in at any moment; I didn't need to bother conversing with Malik.

We traveled silently across the rooms, careful not to make a sound to alert anyone of our presence. I hated how many windows I had put into these rooms. Originally, I wanted to be able to see inside easier, I never imagined that I'd be sneaking around them. If I had known what I'd be doing in these rooms, then I would have planned differently.

"Did you hear that?" Malik asked, stopping so he could hear better.

"I didn't hear anything." I stated, continuing to walk, hoping to get out of the private rooms faster.

"Seto. Seriously. Someone is coming, don't you hear the footsteps?"

This time I stopped midstep. I could distinctly make out footsteps, Malik was right. Someone was coming.

I quickly examined the room, trying to decide what the best course of action would be. Obviously we couldn't run, that would only lead to rash decisions in the long run. Hiding might be an option, if only the room had more convient locations that were covered.

It was so empty. And in my state of panic, I couldn't remember what this room was suppose to be. A lounge perhaps? There were two couches and a chair, all facing the center of the room, but they were all pushed up against the wall in corners. Then there were just a few accessories, mirrors, side tables, a few small potted plants, and one tree in a large metallic pot. Besides that, there was nothing in the room. Looking around, I knew that I didn't plan the decorating of these elements.

"They are getting closer." I stated, hoping that Malik had come up with an idea in the time that I had been thinking.

"I know, have a brilliant plan yet?" He asked, glancing towards the door nervously.

"Nothing. You haven't come up with anything?"

"Well no. I thought that you were supposed to be the genius." He said, more forcefully than I would have imaged. It was clear to me that he was just as worried as I was.

"Hide?" I suggested.

Malik appeared angry. "Hide? That is your amazing plan? We don't know who is going to come through that door, what if it is the Ruler, do you really think that hiding is going to accomplish anything?"

"Then let's hear another one of your brilliant plans, maybe like going into Gozaburo's personal area?"

"Oh, so this is my fault?"

I laughed in disbelief. "Of course this is your fault! It was you and Ryou's idea to attack the palace, and your idea to come back here. Not mine. Take responsibility for what you have done."

We didn't have time to continue the argument. Voices could be heard from the opposite side of the door. And I didn't know if Malik recognized them, but I did. That voice could never be erased from my memories.

"Its him isn't it?" Malik asked, and I nodded quickly.

"Oh crap oh crap oh crapcrapcrap. . ." Malik said, spinning around desperately.

"Couch!" He exclaimed, dragging me over to one of the black seats. He then instructed me to help him push it off the wall, just enough that we could fit behind it without being obvious.

We both turned to look at the door as the knob began to twist.

Malik shoved me down in the small space behind the couch, but he himself didn't follow.

"What are you doing?" I whispered, staring at him in shock. There was no way that he wouldn't hide, the man was a coward!

"It is my fault you are here, you were right. All I can do is make sure you don't get found." He explained, backing away from me slowly, running to the middle of the room. Only a moment later, the door opened.

"What-?" Lector began, but stopped when he recognized the person standing before him.

"Mr. Ishtar." Gozaburo said, walking past him to take a seat on the couch I was hiding behind. I felt my breath catch in my throat. It killed me not to be able to jump out to Malik's rescue, but I knew better.

Malik was right. It was pointless for both of us to get caught and if Gozaburo was distracted, then there was a possibility that he might not notice that there were two people in the room.

"What are you doing in my palace?" Gozaburo asked, his tone polite, but it sent shivers down my spine. I had heard that tone plenty of times before years ago, it was one that he used when he was talking to business men, while taking their companies right before their eyes. It was never a meant anything good.

"Taking a tour? You have a beautiful home."

There was a short pause in their conversation, and in that time, I noticed something terrible. The large tree was directly across from me, and the pot was reflective. If anyone looked too closely at it, they would see me in it. I also noticed that I could see what was occurring on the other side of the couch.

The five men standing had surrounded Malik, assuring that there was no exit available. Gozaburo was still seated.

"Mr. Ishtar, I want to fill you in on a little promise I made to myself a while back. You see, I am a driven man, and I don't appreciate people getting in the way of my goals. Now, you have done that. Not only did you hinder my ultimate goal, but you kept me from my son. I cannot accept that fact."

I couldn't see Malik's face clearly in the reflection because it was blurred from the spherical surface. It was a relief actually, not to be able to see the terror on his features, I don't think that I could have handled that.

"I don't understand." I counted a three second pause before Malik added, "sir."

"You don't? Let me refresh your memory. Think back to Domino, before I began my rule. Now, recall holding the Millennium Rod, feeling it against your skin, the power you held," I noted a change in his tone, carrying from business to resentment and fury. "Then, passing it off to Yugi Motou. What made you think that the boy needed another item? Did you realize that he would be giving it to Seto? How difficult you made my life with that one decision!"

"I-I, I didn't realize, I just wanted to be done with it. . . If I had known- well I don't know what I would have done-"

"Silence!"

I found myself flinching at the sound of his voice, just as I had done when I was young. I still shook when he came near, my heart continued to pound in my chest, as if fighting to burst out. I hated that the man still had this effect on me, and yet, I realized that my fear was rational.

But that didn't make the man a foot from me any less frightening.

"I promised myself that you would suffer for what you did, and Mr. Ishtar, I am a man of my word."

Malik's scream tore through the room, and I had to bit down on my hand to keep from screaming as well.

I knew that I shouldn't, but I looked into the mirror. It was harder to see than before, blood was dripping down the shiny surface. Through the thick red liquid, I could faintly see Malik lying on the ground. _Is he shaking? _I thought, trying to determine what exactly want going on.

"Mr. Kaiba, how long are you going to keep him like this?" Gansley asked.

"Until he is dead of course. But no worries, with my abilities, that won't be any time soon."

He was right. I laid there, between the couch and the wall, for at least an hour, forced to listen to Malik's shouts and cries. Knowing that I had to distract myself, I tried to focus on other things, like what Kae was doing, or whether Ryou had luck finding Mokuba. His chances must have gotten better, seeing as how Kaelyn was supposed to be distracting the guards, and Gozaburo was preoccupied. I was hopeful, Ryou's chances had increased, but I wasn't so confident in the British boy himself.

The door opened again, and I couldn't see who entered the room. Hushed whispers were exchanged, at least, I assumed they were whispering, I heard nothing over Malik's pained voice.

"Mr. Kaiba." Johnson said, calling his attention away from the teen.

"What?"

"We have just received word that there are others in the palace. We have found two so far."

"You've captured two?" Gozaburo asked.

"No sir, two have been seen. The soldiers were unable to pin them down."

"And in what sections of the palace were they located?" He questioned, and I heard my adopted father stand up. That was a good sign. He was going to leave soon to investigate, so I could get out, but he also would be done with Malik. I could only hope that he would kill him quickly and not leave him to die an even more painful death.

"The left hall and the third corridor." A voice responded, but I didn't recognize.

"The third corridor? Meaning the one near my bedroom? And what is in the left hall?" Gozaburo demanded.

"We spotted a young woman in the third corridor, we weren't really sure what she was doing. She actually was eating. The man in the left hall was attempting to be more discreet."

"Then we should go find them."

I heard Gozaburo snap his fingers, and that was the last I heard from Malik. Footsteps could be heard leaving the room, but I didn't move until ten minutes after the door closed. During that time, I lie waiting on the floor, certain that at any moment, someone would walk back in. There was also the fact that I had no idea what was going to be on the floor by the couch. I knew that Malik was dead, and I wasn't sure whether or not I could handle seeing his body. But eventually, my senses kicked in to tell me that sooner or later, someone would come back. This might be my only chance to get out.

It was harder than I would have thought to get out of that small space. The couch was really heavy, so I had to do some strange wiggle motion until my head and hands were free. Then it was much simpler to pull myself out.

There certainly wasn't a body on the floor. I nearly vomited when I saw what was left of him.

Clutching my stomach, I ran from the room.

I knew that the mission was lost. There wasn't a chance for me to reclaim the items. Gozaburo knew that something was going on, he would immediately rush to protect his power. My only option was to get out, and quickly.

I rushed through the hallways, taking far less care to be seen than I had on the way in. I was so distracted by the sight in the lounge that I barely saw anything in front of me.

Miraculously, I made it out of the Ruler's part of the palace and into the servants quarters without being seen. I wasn't too sure what I would have done if someone had noticed me. Clearly I was in no position to fight, and running only gets so far.

Try as I might, I couldn't think about anything besides Malik. I hated Gozaburo. No human could do that to someone. Never would I be able to get that sight out of my mind, the image of the pieces of Malik's body thrown across the room would always plague my thoughts. The chaos that filled that room would always be with me, it was impossible to forget.

"Hey!" I knew it was Kae shouting behind me, and yet, I didn't stop. I continued to run forward, escaping the palace walls, not stopping until I was a good mile into the desert. Only then I stopped and fell to the ground. I laid there throughout the night, letting the tears flow freely.

* * *

Chapter Nine. That took forever to type. Originally, I wanted to be a whole lot more graphic, but then I hit a serioys writer's block on how to do that. So, this is the version I felt the most comfortable with.

**Preview: **_We go back with Ryou, watching his trip through the palace. Ends with a much sought after reunion!_

_**REVIEW!**_


	10. Chapter 10

I am so sorry for the long update period! I know that I say it every time, but I am so serious. And the only reason I am working on this now is because I'm having writer's block on my novel I'm writing for NaNoWriMo. I should be updating more in December.

I wrote this chapter from Ryou's POV. For the record, you have to read this with a British accent, the phrasing makes a lot more sense that way, and it sounds a whole lot cooler.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh!

-

**Ryou's POV**

This truly was the most exciting thing I had done in quite some time. Breaking into the home of the most powerful man in the world certainly topped all of my past adventures. Not that I had much to talk about concerning past events, I hadn't done much thrilling actions in my life.

Which is why I knew that this had to go well. What would I have to tell if this went poorly? Failure wasn't acceptable for me, as I only let myself perform at my absolute best.

Also, I was working for someone else; Kaiba wouldn't be pleased if I only gave a half-hearted effort to retrieve his brother. Personally, I was a bit afraid of Kaiba, after all, he could be very intimidating when he chose to be.

The shadows didn't seem to be on my side. At two in the morning, there were an abundance of them, yet I never felt hidden. My hair wouldn't stay tied behind my head, and I was constantly pushing it back to its place. The white colour didn't assist me as I tried to remain inconspicuous. Reflecting back on my preparation, I should have taken a few more precautionary measures to insure that I wasn't so visible. Yet, there was nothing that I could do at the moment, and I had to press on.

I saw three guards jogging across a doorways down the hall. They didn't see me, there attention seemed to be focused on someone else, that much I knew. The plan was that Kaelyn and I would stay in this section of the palace, and she was to be the distraction. Getting to Mokuba was my only goal, one which I hoped that I was getting close to.

From what I learned in the blueprints and our meeting held a few hours ago, Mokuba was being held in a dungeon, one that was far out of the way. It took me a good amount of time to get even close to the room, especially since I had to avoid the pesky guards along the way. They kept appearing in very inconvenient places, and I was required to dive quickly into a hidden location. That drastically slowed down my speed, and I feared that falling so far behind schedule would effect the operation. Timing was essential for this to work, if Kaelyn left before we were done, then it would be nearly impossible to complete my task, or for Kaiba and Malik to complete theirs.

After traveling the long corridors for thirty-three minutes I arrived at the hallway that lead to Mokuba's room. What I didn't expect to see was a pair of guards sitting outside his room door. Getting past them, well, that would be a clever challenge.

I cursed the Ruler for using his powers. If he just settled with operating each item separately, then their magic wouldn't have been combined, and nature wouldn't have been altered. Never have I claimed to understand how the millennium items have the power to control the environment and electronics, and I doubt that anyone actually does. If we hadn't lost electronics, then I could have called Kaelyn. Instead, I had to think of a way around the two guards posted near Mokuba's door.

I spent a few minutes observing them, taking in what small amounts of information I could. No detail escaped my careful scrutiny, but I didn't think that anything I saw would help me. The men were built to guard prisoners. Both were large, muscular and very scary. They were leaning against the walls right beside the door, carrying on a conversation.

I wished that they were like the guards in the movies. The ones that were always asleep, and made it easy to sneak the key out of their hands. But since they worked for the most powerful man on earth, that had to be more than enough motivation to do your job successfully.

Staring at my watch, I waited until ten seconds had passed, watching the hands click to 1:55 a.m. I knew that I had to act fast. Mokuba was meant to be ready at two, and he might begin to panic if I wasn't there at that time. That still left the question, how to get in the room?

I stood pondering over my problem for a few minutes, occasionally peeking around the corner at the guards, hoping that they might magically disappear. At least I knew that was a possibility.

"What are you doing?"

The voice behind me nearly made me scream. It was certainly unexpected. I turned around slowly, afraid to see who had caught me.

"Pardon me, can you direct me which way to the servant's quarters? I believe that I am lost." I said, hoping that this man was a fool.

"Are you here for the kid?" He asked, and I tried to appear confused.

"What kid?" I asked.

"I can get the guards away from the door, you will have around two minutes, then they will come back." He said, then leaving to walk around the corner.

I was shocked. What was he doing? This man was helping me?

I glanced around the corner to see the man talking to the guards. Then, much to my surprise, they got up and walked in the other direction. The man put a hand behind his back and gestured with a slight flick of his hand for me to get moving.

It took me a moment to react. There was no way that one of Gozaburo's men was helping me break his most important prisoner out of his most guarded cell. This wasn't happening.

But then I realized that this might be my only chance to get Mokuba out. If this man was serious, then I might have enough time to complete my job. It was idiotic of me to trust this man, but I had no choice. It was now or never.

Stepping forward, I edged around the corner, checking to see that the halls were clear. When I saw that they were, I sprinted to the unguarded door.

"Mokuba, are you there?" I called, as loud as I dared.

"Who are you?" He responded.

I pulled a pick out of my pocket, fumbling as I tried to fit it into the lock. This was the easiest part of my job. Back when I had my own home in America, I would forget my keys almost daily. I had learned to pick locks when I was only fifteen.

"Don't scream, we have to get out quietly." I said.

When he didn't respond, I considered calling out to him again, but then assumed that he wasn't answering because he heard me. I continued adjusting my pin until I heard the click.

The door immediately swung open and Mokuba stepped out. I quickly scanned over him, and knew that Kaiba was not going to be happy. From his bloody clothes to his thinned out form, he had certainly changed in his appearance.

"Ryou?" He said in shock. He quickly looked me up and down, then fell forward to hug me. It certainly came as a surprise, but not one that I didn't appreciate. The poor boy probably hadn't seen a friendly face in a year. I gave him a few moments to complete his hug and then I had to start rushing us out. All of this would be pointless if they got caught at this point.

"We need to leave at once." I said, gently pushing him off. Mokuba understood and closed the door to his room. I was glad he thought of doing that, I never would have. Hopefully that would buy us some time.

"Right. Which way?" He asked, and we began to run in the way I had come. Mokuba ran alongside me the entire time.

Everything was going perfectly until we reached the staircase I had come down earlier. Voice could be heard from the top.

"Is there another way?" Mokuba whispered. He was standing right beside me, but slowly backing away from the stairs.

"Not that I know of." I stated.

"Then we will just have to find a way."

"They won't be up there forever." I said, but Mokuba kept backing up.

I looked around. The hallway that we were currently in continued on. I didn't know how to get out from that direction. It wasn't safe, it wasn't smart, but the look in Mokuba's eyes convinced me not to go the way that I knew.

We took off in the other direction, and I soon became quite grateful for the decision. Whoever had been at the top of the stairs had begun to descend, quickly reaching the spot that Mokuba and I had been standing.

"Hey! Stop!"

"They saw us!" Mokuba announced, beginning to run faster. I could see it easily though, he wouldn't be able to keep up his pace. He had been a captive for a year, he wasn't in any shape to be running for a long period of time.

I began pouring through ideas, but I knew that none of them were worth considering. I wasn't the mastermind behind this entire scheme, all we needed was Kaiba.

Or a distraction. Kae was in the building, if we could get near to her, she would provide time for us to escape. The only problem with that plan was figuring out how to get to the spy. I didn't know my way around, and I was trying to work my way through the largest palace in history. The odds weren't in our favour.

"Please tell me you have a plan." Mokuba asked.

"Only if you know your way around here." I responded, quickly looking back over my shoulder to see the men gaining on us.

"Well, seeing as how I've been locked up for the past year, I'm not thinking that plan will work. Anything else?"

"We run until one of us dies?" I suggested. Mokuba rolled his eyes, but tried to run faster.

Even with the energy Mokuba and I saved by not speaking, we weren't fast enough for the men chasing after us. They slowly gained ground, and Mokuba and I both could tell that it wasn't going to end well.

"Still nothing?" The black haired boy beside me asked. I shook my head.

"So all of this, it was for nothing?"

I didn't want to agree with that. I couldn't fail my mission. If Gozaburo didn't kill me for attempting to break his most valuable prisoner out, then Kaiba certainly would finish the job.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in the hallway before us. Technically, he didn't appear, but I hadn't noticed his presence before that moment. I was startled, as was Mokuba.

"Keep running." The mystery man insisted. I didn't recognize him at first, but as we drew closer, I could see that it was the man from earlier. A quick glance to Mokuba made me understand that they were connected in some way. I had no choice but to trust the man.

"You are letting them get away!"

"Stop them!"

I didn't look back. Even after I heard the gun shot, I didn't look back. Mokuba made the mistake of doing so, but quickly faced forward again. He squeezed his eyes closed, but kept running.

It took an hour of turning and backtracking for me to reach a familiar location. By that time, Mokuba and I were so exhausted, we had to take a momentary break. I chose what looked to be an empty room along the hallway. From the thick layer of dust on the furniture, I assumed that it hadn't been entered in a few weeks.

Mokuba immediately fell to the floor, trying to find a comfortable position against its hard surface.

"We can't stay here for long." I told him.

"I know, I'm just not use to that much exercise. Pretty pathetic."

"I seriously doubt that anyone is in good enough shape to run that distance at that pace. Pure motivation was the only thing keeping me going."

Mokuba nodded his agreement. "I have to see Seto." Mokuba stated, finding a position to stay in. He closed his eyes and pushed his lips together to form a line. I may not have met Mokuba on too many occasions prior to this day, but I could tell when someone was trying not to cry.

Once he collected himself, Mokuba asked. "When will we be out of here?"

"Well, if my memory serves me correctly, we just have to go down that side hallway until we reach the large painting on the wall. That pulls away to reveal a passageway that should take us to the meeting spot."

"Are we meeting Seto?"

I hated to see the excitement in Mokuba's eyes. What if something had gone wrong on Kaiba's end? I didn't want to get Mokuba too excited, but it appeared that I was too late.

"That is the plan."

"Then let's go." Mokuba said, sitting up from his resting position.

"We have time, there is no need to jump right now." I stated, but Mokuba shook his head.

"Why wait? We can rest later on, now we have to get out of here. I will be fine running a bit more, will you?"

The determination in his eyes was evident. I didn't doubt that he would be able to make it out of the palace, it was myself that I was questioning. My body wasn't in proper shape for this amount of exercise. But getting out did seem to be more important than my pain, so I didn't mention it.

I peered into the hallway, making sure it was clear before Mokuba and I began to run down it. No one was following us, which I took to be a good sign. We were almost safe and outside.

At least, we were almost safe until we saw a shadow moving along the wall. There wasn't anywhere close enough to hide, so Mokuba and I ran backwards until we found an open door. We quickly jumped into the room and pulled the door closed behind us.

We both had the same thought and instantly pressed our ears against the door. At first, we couldn't hear anything, but then it grew louder.

"How is it that even possible?"

Mokuba's eyes grew wide next to me. I didn't recognize the voice, but he certainly seemed to. I wanted to ask, but was afraid to speak up. He seemed to understand my expression. He then mouthed the word, "Gozaburo."

"Sir, we have reason to believe that Seto has someone on the inside helping him. There were no guards posted at Mokuba's door. We can't find the men who were stationed there either."

Once again, I looked to Mokuba for the name of the person, but he just shook his head. I went back to listening.

"I will kill whoever left their post. It is unacceptable."

Footsteps could be heard, quickly approaching the men in the hall.

"Mr. Kaiba! We found Hector and Perkins."

Mokuba mouthed the word, "Lector." He kept his ear pressed as close to the door as he could manage.

"Where are they?" Gozaburo demanded.

"We placed them in a cell, but, they did do a good bit of talking before we put them in there." Lector said.

There was a moment of silence and the footsteps stopped. "What were they saying?" The mystery voice asked.

"Mr. Kaiba, sir, they told us that Gansley told them to leave their post."

The silence after that comment lasted for some time. I just stared at Mokuba, who was in shock. He looked like he was going to be sick and he began to twitch nervously. I didn't know who Gansley was, but from Mokuba's reaction, he was most likely on our side.

"Gansley?" Gozaburo asked, apparently in as much shock as Mokuba.

"Yes sir." Lector said.

"And where is Gansley now?"

Mokuba was muttering under his breath, "Oh please be gone, oh please be gone, oh please be gone."

"That is just it, we haven't been able to find him. Or Mokuba."

I was certainly grateful that I wasn't in the hallway at that point. The string of profanities coming out of Gozaburo's mouth may have been the only thing I heard, but that didn't mean that more wasn't going on. From the stories that I had heard, being near Gozaburo Kaiba when he was angry didn't ever result well.

"Find them both. I don't care if you have to burn down the entire city, find those two. I don't care whether or not you kill Gansley, but Mokuba has to be breathing."

I didn't quite know how to react. Mokuba seemed as though he was going to have a heart attack. I wasn't about to blame him. Nothing was working out in our advantage and Mokuba seemed to know that.

We waited until the hall fell quiet, and then stay for a while longer. Mokuba had gone into a state of shock and I wasn't really in any mood to be running for my life. We were both content with sitting in against the door until the coast was clear.

While we sat there, I tried to imagine what must be on Mokuba's mind. Kaiba was probably his focus. Getting back to his brother had to be the center of his thoughts, right next to escaping Gozaburo. Perhaps the next thing on his mind would be the year he spent in captivity. I doubted that would ever leave his mind. The things that he went through I would probably never know, but the memories would never leave his mind. I could relate to living through hell, the years I spent with Bakura were rarely far from my mind.

"Ryou?" Mokuba whispered. I turned to face him.

"Can we please go now? We are almost out. I just want to be done with this."

"If you are ready."

Mokuba and I left together, running and not pausing until the gates of the palace were far behind us. It was only then, when we were out of seeing distance that we stopped.

"Where is the meeting spot?" Mokuba asked, panting as he forced the words out. He had doubled over with his hands on his knees in an attempt to breathe better. I found myself in the same position.

"About a mile away. We were suppose to be there an hour ago." I answered.

"Crap. Oh well, I'm out! No more prisons, no more boring days, no more Gozaburo! I'm perfectly content with being an hour or two late."

I smiled at his attitude. I hadn't expected him to stay upbeat after what we had just gone through, but he was surprisingly optimistic.

"Shall we go find your brother?" I suggested.

Mokuba's face lit with excitement. He didn't even have to say anything to me in order for me to know that I didn't even have to ask.

We now walked for remainer of the trip. Neither of us spoke to each other, but it was still comfortable to walk next to each other. Mokuba seemed overjoyed to just be outside, even if it was in the dead of night. He was smiling and looking around, trying to take in everything that he could see.

"Ry!" It took us a while to get to the agreed upon spot, but as soon as it was in sight, I heard Kae's voice.

"Is that Mokuba?" She shouted and ran over to him. She pulled him into a tight hug, which Mokuba didn't seem to enjoy as much as the walk over.

"Is Seto here?" He asked, as soon as Kae let him breathe.

"No, he should be coming over though."

I looked around, it was just us and Kae. Neither Seto or Malik had arrived yet, they must have gotten delayed as well.

But they didn't show up. We waited all night, but the two of them never showed up. Mokuba had fallen asleep while waiting, and I even found myself drifting on and off. Kae didn't fall asleep, she sat staring at the road, absent-mindedly playing with the hem of her shirt.

We stayed this way until the sun rose. By that time, Mokuba had woken up, but had lost his excited demeanor. The silence was torture, each second drifting by more slowly than seemed possible. We were all growing anxious. Kaelyn had actually torn off the bottom of her shirt and was slowly picking away at the material. Mokuba had his eyes closed, but his foot was tapping nervously on the ground. I myself had cracked my knuckles so many times that they were bruised.

I had given up. If Seto and Malik hadn't returned by this time, they weren't going to make it back. But I couldn't let Mokuba down. He had been so excited about the thought of seeing his brother. I wanted to keep that hope alive inside him as long as possible.

"Seto!"

* * *

There. I finished. Took me long enough, between writing my novel and finals, I didn't have the time. But I've said it many times, I'm not giving up on this story!

_Preview: Seto is back and explains what happened while he was in the palace. Mokuba and Seto do a LOT of talking._


	11. Chapter 11

Okay, so I went back to From the Dead to re-read it, and in the first two chapters alone, I found so many things that I didn't do consistently through-out the series. I called Malik Marik and used lots of author's notes within the chapter, Seto was way more of a jerk. . . just in two chapters mind you. I really should edit that stuff.

Oh, and I just noticed that Seto had a teacher named Mrs. Jaden. I wonder if she is related to the annoying neighbor, Mrs. Jiden?

Oh! And I'm now on Twitter (thanks Hikari!). If you want to follow me, I'm KaelynnD there too.

Disclaimer: I don't own this show!

* * *

Seto's POV

"Seto!"

I heard the shout before I saw Mokuba. The thought that shouting my name in public was a terrible idea didn't pass my thoughts until later on. The only thing that I could think about was my brother sitting up ahead.

I ran forward and saw Mokuba doing the same. We met each other and immediately embraced, both of us holding on as if our lives depended on it. At that moment, nothing would have been able to pull me apart from my brother.

Mokuba was shaking, and I discovered that I was too. A mixture of excitement, joy, and guilt all were spread across my mind, but I pushed all of that out. I was holding Mokuba for the first time in a year. I pulled him tighter to me at that point.

I was unaware of how long we stood like that. If it had gone on for hours, I wouldn't have minded. All that mattered was Mokuba. He was back. My brother was back.

Eventually, the hug had to stop, but even as we stepped backwards, we stayed close.

"You look weird." Was the first thing Mokuba said. He had a huge grin on his face, and I could see his eyes welling up.

"You look like crap." I answered.

"I feel like crap." He responded, laughing quietly.

We fell silent then, just taking in each other. He looked so different. I was amazed at how much he changed in a year. He gained an inch or two, all most reaching my shoulder. I wouldn't have minded the extra height if he hadn't lost so much weight. It wasn't healthy, and he looked sickly.

But on top of that, I could tell that he had been beaten up a lot. I could see bruises across his face and arms. There were scratches, many of which hadn't healed and left deep lines across his skin. His finger was hard to look at, it was so misshaped that it was painful just to imagine it.

"I hate to ruin this moment," Kaelyn said, "but where is Malik?"

That sent my mood crashing back down. But even in my momentary happiness of seeing Mokuba, I knew that I would have to break the news to them eventually.

I had stood in front of many intimidating people. By fifteen I had mastered the skill of lying and deception to avoid any problems. I knew how to look someone in the eyes and tell them exactly what they wanted to hear, even if they were angry or upset. Business men didn't frighten me, them I had practice with handling. Put me in a conference room any day and I will be fine.

But put me in front of two people who just lost a friend and then I'm lost.

I couldn't find words to explain what had happened. No thoughts crossed my mind that were acceptable to say. Each time I began a sentence, I pulled it back in. I stood this way for some time, staring at the ground.

"Seto." Kaelyn said after a few minutes of waiting. I looked up to see her eyes filling with tears as she bit her lip trying to hold them in. "Please just tell me that he is alive."

Mokuba stepped away from me at that point, staring at me in shock. I couldn't bring myself to look him in the eyes, so I kept my gaze on the ground.

"Big brother." Mokuba said, and I could hear his voice shaking as he spoke. "No."

But I still couldn't answer. All that was going through my mind was images of Malik, the sounds of his screams, and the fear of being so close to Gozaburo. I couldn't fight them out long enough to come up with something decent to say.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and glanced up to see Ryou standing in front of me. He had tears flowing down his cheeks, but his eyes were serious. "Just tell me, is Malik dead?"

I nodded, and Ryou's hand fell. But instantly, I felt Mokuba's arms back around me.

We stayed there for a while, no one really knowing how to react. I was quiet and Mokuba was crying. Kaelyn had turned away from us, which I assumed was so we couldn't see her tears. Ryou stood in front of me, too shocked to move.

"Seto, we shouldn't be standing in the streets." Kaelyn said, turning around once she composed herself.

I didn't respond, but our small group slowly made our way back home. None of us spoke, which only made the trip more uncomfortable. It gave me too much time to linger over what they would say when we were out of the public eye. Certain that Kae would send me many questions about what had happened, I tried to decide what I would tell her. The details I knew would be hard for me, so I made up my mind to leave the graphic descriptions out. However, I didn't think that Kaelyn would accept that, Ryou probably wouldn't either.

I glanced down to Mokuba. He walked beside me, holding on to my arm. It was as though he was afraid that I would disappear. I didn't blame him, I was holding onto his hand, keeping a tight grip.

We were almost to the house when the alarm went out. People walked outside of their houses to see the guards going door to door, searching for something.

Ryou's neighbor. Mrs. Jiden, came running out of her house to see what was occurring on the street. Kaelyn pushed Mokuba and I inside.

Once in, Kae locked the door behind us.

"I give us three minutes before they come here." She said, turning to Ryou.

"You do have a place for them to hide, right?"

Ryou closed his eyes to think, but all most immediately opened them.

"Yes, we have a place, but it isn't going to hold them long." He said, walking over to the opposite side of the room. Ryou stopped in front of the fire place and reached all the way back. I couldn't tell what he was doing, but a few seconds later, Ryou kicked at the back of the hearth and it came off.

"There is a really small room back here. You won't be able to stay in there long. And I am going to have to start the fire. Then they wouldn't give it a second thought, maybe just the chimney."

"Get in." Kae said, and I didn't hesitate to obey. Mokuba and I both ran over, crawling into the small space.

Ryou was right. We wouldn't be able to stay here long. The room was maybe five feet tall and five feet wide. When he closed the door, we wouldn't be able to get any oxygen. And not just that, but when he lit the fire, this room would get really hot, and it wouldn't take long to do so.

"I don't know how long they will be here, but if it comes down to it, hit on the door and I will let you out. But try to stay in as long as possible. Breathe slowly." Ryou said, then closed the door.

Mokuba and I weren't in the most comfortable position. I was on the bottom and Mokuba was sitting partially on top of me. Since the roof was so low, we both had to bend to the side, which didn't really work since there wasn't enough space.

"This is one of the more comfortable room I've been in recently." Mokuba whispered, and I could hear the tone of his voice. I had almost forgotten how sarcastic he could be.

"Maybe we shouldn't be talking." I whispered back.

"They aren't here yet." He insisted.

"How do you know? Maybe we just can't hear anything that is going on out in the other room."

"Ryou. Can you hear me?" Mokuba asked in a normal voice. I waited for an answer. When none came, I took that as a bad sign.

"If they can't hear us, we can't hear them. We will have no idea what is going on out there. What if they kill Ryou and Kaelyn? We will die soon after that."

Mokuba didn't respond to that question, but changed the subject. "So, how have you been?"

I chuckled at the question. After everything I had gone through over the past year, there didn't seem words to answer Mokuba's ridiculous question. I knew that he was just trying to pass the time, but that didn't mean that the question was any better.

"Not so great. But I didn't really expect any better. I'm more concerned with how you have been doing." I answered.

"I've just been great. Gozaburo is a lovely host." Mokuba said, adjusting slightly in my lap.

"What do you think this room is here for?" Mokuba asked before I could question him any further.

"Maybe storage? But why you would want to store things behind a fireplace is beyond me."

Mokuba leaned back so his head was on the wall next to mine. We didn't speak after that, but resolved ourselves to just sit in the small space quietly. I stared into the darkness.

Every time Mokuba shifted beside me, a new wave of happiness spread over me. I might have been uncomfortable, but I was sitting with Mokuba. My little brother that I hadn't seen in a year was back with me, and that seemed to make everything okay.

I knew that outside of our hiding place, men were tearing through the streets trying to locate us, and I knew that Gozaburo would stop at nothing until we were dead, but I had Mokuba.

I sat in happiness for a while, but it was cut off when I noticed the temperature of the space increasing. At first, it was a gradual increase, but soon after, it began to steadily rise.

The temperature wasn't the only problem Mokuba and I were facing. We had been in this small space for around ten minutes. We were losing oxygen. Each breath had to count, and I tried to breath as slowly as possible to conserve what oxygen was left. I could feel Mokuba doing the same.

It was hard. With the heat growing so quickly, it increased the urge to pant for breath. But there was nothing to be done other than to wait it out. I had put all my trust into Kae and Ryou. If they failed their part, Mokuba and I would have made it this far for nothing.

"Seto." Mokuba whispered. I didn't answer, but he went on. "I'm sorry all of this happened."

"Don't be. It isn't your fault."

"I have something to tell you." He said, but I shook my head.

"Later. Save your breath."

He must have agreed because I didn't hear anything after that. I could only hope that he was thinking about timing his breaths.

A sudden light made me squeeze my eyes closed and turn away. But the sudden burst of air was a welcome relief.

"I am so sorry that took so long! The guards were only here for a few minutes, but then Mrs. Jiden came over and we couldn't get her out!" Kae exclaimed, extending a hand to Mokuba to help him out.

"Be careful, it's still hot." Ryou said as we stepped over the ashes in the fireplace.

Kae grimaced as she looked at me, her nose wrinkling in distaste. And as I looked down, I noticed that my shirt was entirely soaked in sweat.

"It was really hot in there." I explained.

"Shall we get you a change of clothing?" Ryou asked. "I may have more fitting clothes for Mokuba, I don't believe that he could fit into your clothes Kaiba."

I didn't want to be separated from Mokuba, but a change into dry clothes sounded amazing. So we all, except Kae, went to the back to find new clothing.

My belongings were all in Malik's room, and walking in brought back memories that I tried to repress. But the occasional flash of that room and Malik's body kept jumping to the front of my mind. I took a few minutes to lie on the floor trying to block out the images, but failing at the task.

Eventually, I just had to leave the room, only taking enough time to throw on a new set of clothes. I closed the door behind me. I wouldn't be able to go back in.

Kae was waiting on the couch in the living room for us to come back, and I was the last person to enter the room. I took a seat beside Mokuba on a chair facing the other two. I glanced at Mokuba who was now in the British teen's clothing. He smiled at me and moved his chair closer to mine.

"Seto. What happened?" Kaelyn asked.

She and Ryou were staring at me, but Mokuba was staring across the room. He knew me better than the other two, which is why he understood that I would certainly not want his eyes on me. Yet Mokuba still offered me support by taking hold of my hand as I tried to explain what had happened.

For a while, no words came to me. Just the memories of last night plagued my mind. No one pushed me to speak, but they waited patiently for my explanation of the events.

"We were going according to plan. The door didn't have any guards, which I assumed was your doing." I said, finally deciding to start at the easy part. Kaelyn nodding in agreement that she had in fact set up that entrance.

"Everything was fine, but Malik decided that we were behind schedule and wanted to make up some time. I tried to stop him from taking that shortcut, but he ran in after I had passed it."

I froze again there. I didn't want to make Malik sound like an idiot, even if he had made a terrible decision. And I also didn't want to completely describe what Gozaburo did to him. There was no reason that they needed to know any of that.

I felt Mokuba's grip grow tighter, silently letting me know that it was okay to go on.

"The room he ran into was one of Gozaburo's personal rooms. I knew that leaving him alone would be foolish, so I followed him in. It wasn't long before we heard the footsteps."

Ryou was staring at me in shock. He didn't move, he didn't blink, but he kept his focus on my story. Kaelyn was handling it a bit better, she was at least breathing evenly.

"Malik said that it was most important for me to be hidden, so he found me a hiding place. But he didn't follow."

I had the small hope that one of them would stop me. That they would tell me that I didn't need to go any further, but that wasn't the case. I had to continue, and as I described the next events, I could tell that they hoped they had stopped me.

Mokuba was crying quietly. Even though I didn't describe exactly the manner of Malik's death, I had the feeling that Mokuba knew more than I had said. He had lived under Gozaburo for a year, he knew better than I what the man was capable of doing. His hand that was holding mine was shaking as Mokuba tried to stay strong for me.

Ryou finally had to turn away, as if looking at me was difficult. Kaelyn kept her eyes on the floor until I finished.

"I just had to leave. There was nothing else I could do." I said, finally concluding my story.

Kaelyn didn't waste any time before asking. "You didn't mention, did he die quickly?"

I considered lying. Letting them have some comfort in the fact that Malik's death had been painless and easy, but I didn't have it in me. Keeping up the lie would be harder than telling it, and would cause greater problems later.

"No. It wasn't a fast death."

That silenced the group. The only sound that could be heard was Mokuba's deep breathing as he attempted to stop crying. I now found myself trying to console my brother, but I wasn't doing a very good job. The best I could do was just keep my hold on his hand just so I could be there for him.

Ryou left the room, walking quickly into his bedroom and closing the door behind him. I didn't blame him for wanting to be alone during this time.

"I think I'm going to go to. I have a meeting and it won't kill me to be early." Kaelyn said, standing and walking to the window. She peered out. "There are still guards on the streets. Stay inside."

That left Mokuba and I by ourselves. His crying had finally slowed down, but he still wasn't talking. I waited for him to speak, knowing that he needed to let everything out. Knowing him, he probably hadn't cried the entire time he was a hostage.

I wanted to learn everything that had happened to him, but I wasn't going to put any pressure on him to tell me what he had gone through. When the time came, I would figure it out.

"Seto, I need to tell you something."

I looked at Mokuba, who had managed to hold back the tears, but his face was still red.

"What is it?"

"That night, a year ago when you and Seth switched places, something happened that I forgot to tell you. I asked Mr. Motou to get the message to you, but I suppose he forgot."

Mokuba stopped there. He sniffled a few times and wiped his face on the sleeve of his shirt.

"Gozaburo beat up Seth pretty bad. I could tell that he wasn't going to last much longer, but he told me a few things that you would need to know. The first was that you would need the best on your side. I don't really know what he meant by that. The second thing he told me was to read the last page. I didn't know what it meant at the time, but now I do."

I was confused. None of those things made any sense to me either. Why couldn't Seth have left easier instructions to follow?

"Before Seth told me that, he gave me the memories of his life, the one in Egypt. I didn't really think too much of them until I saw the box that you went to that store to ask about. Seto. I can read what it says."

"You can read the writing on the box?" I asked, more rhetorical than an actual question. But Mokuba responded anyway.

"I got Seth's memories, so I can read that language. I can open the box. I don't know about the book inside, but if Gozaburo can read it, I should be able to."

"You want to defeat Gozaburo with his own power?"

"Can you think of a better way?" He asked.

As I thought about it, I couldn't think of anything else. If Gozaburo was really all that powerful, we would need some power on our side also.

"Then the only problem would be getting you to that box. Do you know where it is?"

Mokuba nodded. "Unless he has moved it, which I don't think he will. They keep it in this room called the Sealed Room. I've only been in it once, but it is really hard to get to, and of course, they keep the door locked."

"Don't worry about that. If I can get you in, we may have a shot at getting rid of Gozaburo once and for all."

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Preview: Gozaburo's POV. He is having a fit about the whole escape thing. Then it goes to Seto who meets Kae's inside man.

REVIEW PLEASE!


	12. Chapter 12

Thanks for the reviews! And I got a few new readers, which is always wonderful, especially when they are of the reviewing sort! It really made me want to type up this next chapter. Or maybe I am just ready for Seto to get the plot moving? Either way, you didn't have to wait two months for an update. You can thank my being sick for that. I also uploaded another story, Possessions, check it out! It has gotten a really good response so far!

Disclaimer still stands.

Twitter: KaelynnD

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Gozaburo's POV

I sat on my throne, staring at the fools in front of me. Lector, Johnson, Crump, Nesbitt, the captain of the guard, and a few others were all standing before me.

"How did you let this happen?" I asked, my tone even but severe.

"Sir, we never could have expected Gansley to turn on us." Lector stated.

Gansley. Just hearing his name angered me to the point I wanted to kill everyone in the room. How dare he cross me. Did he not know that he sentenced himself to death in that action?

I had been thinking over everything Gansley had done over the past year. How long had he been a traitor? The memories of the two of us working together all seemed fake now. Had he ever been faithful to me? Or had my every order been carried out with disdain?

I should have seen it sooner. I placed him in charge of Mokuba, the best position for a traitor to be put in. He had access to the boy that no one else had. It amazed me that he waited this long to help him escape. But I supposed that it was part of Seto's plan.

"Even with Gansley helping Seto, it shouldn't have been that simple." I insisted. "You, guard, how did they get in?"

The captain shifted uncomfortably in my stare. It was as though he knew I was going to kill him at the end of the conversation.

"There were two open gates, sir."

"That is unacceptable." I said, furious that such a careless mistake could be made.

"I did an account of my troops positions during the raid and discovered that they had been reassigned without my knowing." He defended, but it was too late for him.

"Let me guess, Gansley had them moved?"

The captain nodded, lowering his head in shame. He didn't say anything else.

"Mr. Kaiba, we are searching through the city, Seto and Mokuba will not get away. All of the exits are covered and we have look outs posted at the end of every road. They won't be able to go anywhere without our knowledge." Johnson added.

"I don't want them to be safe even in doors. Get men to search every house, and not just once, but daily. More than that, have them do it at random times, no warning given. I don't want anyone safe in Cairo." I ordered.

Crump nodded and left to follow out my commands, which meant that he was safe for the time being. The others weren't going to get off so easily.

"Has anyone found out anything so far? Like what was Malik Ishtar doing in Egypt?" I asked, all though, I couldn't say that I was upset that I had found him here. Even on a night as awful as Mokuba escaping, killing Malik had kept my mood from being too down.

"I have been looking into that, sir." Johnson stated. "From what we could find, he traveled over from Mexico's open port. We haven't discovered if he was traveling with anyone."

That information did nothing for me. What did it matter where he came from? All I cared about was what he was here for. Was he helping Seto?

"Find something useful. Nesbitt, do you have any information that is worth mentioning?"

Nesbitt shook his head. "No sir."

I growled and got to my feet. "I'm going to my room. I expect the next words I hear to be good news." I said, stepping towards the door by the throne. Then, as an additional thought, I added. "And find me a new captain of the guard."

Extending a hand, I snapped the former guards neck.

-

Seto's POV

"Ow! That really hurts!" Mokuba exclaimed, jumping forward a bit.

We had been at it all morning. Mokuba confessed that he had several open wounds, and I knew that they needed to be cleaned. And that notion was confirmed when he showed them to me. All though he knew that they needed to be taken care of, that didn't mean that he was going to sit through it silently.

"Sorry, but I need you to stay still." I said, placing a hand on his shoulder to keep him from moving.

"The other ones all are fine! I didn't get sick from them not being cleaned!" Mokuba insisted, trying to get out of my grip.

"You asked me to do this! I'm all most finished, just give me five minutes!" I yelled back.

Ryou would occasionally walk by the door, just to see what was going on. Our argument seemed to amuse him. He would peer in, take in the scene, and smile before leaving. This he did every few minutes.

"Five minutes is way too long! This is torture!"

"This is torture? You lived with Gozaburo Kaiba for a year as his prisoner, and might I remind you, it was there that you gained all of these injuries."

"Oh. Right." Mokuba muttered, but finally holding still so I could finish.

I was trying to play off the situation as if it didn't bother me, but every second I spent staring at Mokuba's cuts and bruises made me feel sick. He had aquired a great deal of them, and I felt the guilt for each one. If I had been a month sooner, how many could I have prevented from occuring?

My hands slowly moved up and down Mokuba's back, the area I was currently cleaning up. From that point on, he didn't say anything. His only action was to wince any time I made a move that was too painful. I promptly apologized after each one.

"How did you meet Kaelyn?" He asked once I had finished. I didn't stop winding the bandage around him to answer.

"On the trip over. She was on the same boat as me, and we traveled together here. Neither of us had anything here, so we just decided to stay together."

Mokuba turned around to laugh at me. "You didn't have a problem sharing? And not just sharing, but sharing with a girl? Aw, do you love her Seto?"

I knew he was just playing around, so I decided to respond in the same manner. Placing my hands up to my heart, I pretended to pour out my soul.

"You caught me kiddo. I'm in love with Kae. She is just so amazing, the way she breaks things and doesn't lock the door behind her. Oh, the way she completely ignores anything she doesn't agree with, that just makes her more beautiful to me."

"You are so annoying!" Mokuba shouted, playfully hitting my arm.

"Wow Seto, I didn't know that you felt that way about me."

I turned to the door to see Kae leaning against the frame. She had a large grin on her face as she looked into the room.

"Mokuba, can you put your shirt on and come out here. I have someone that you may want to see."

Mokuba nodded and grabbed the shirt that Ryou had given him. He pulled it over his head and jumped to his feet. From the look on his face, I could tell that he had an idea about who was in the other room, but I myself was clueless.

My brother grabbed my hand and walked me to the door, but then stopped.

"Kaelyn, do you mind giving us a minute?" He asked.

She shrugged and walked out, only asking that we hurry with whatever it was that we were doing. Mokuba agreed and waited for her to leave before getting my attention.

"Look, I'm not completely sure who is out there, but if it is the man I'm thinking of, you are not going to be happy. Please don't overreact."

I was confused. If Kae trusted a man enough to bring him here, and Mokuba knew him, why wouldn't I be happy about it? And what would there be to react badly about?

"I'll be fine kiddo, come on."

I tried to walk by, but Mokuba stopped me. He placed a hand on either side of the doorway to block my exit.

"You don't get it. I know that you will handle this badly and I don't want to deal with that. Please Seto, promise me that you aren't going to do something stupid."

"Mokuba. You don't even know that the person out there is who you are thinking of. Can we please just go?" I asked, but Mokuba stayed firm.

"Not until you promise." He said, slowly enforcing each word he spoke. I actually found myself growing intimidated. Mokuba had never had that affect on me before.

"Okay. I promise."

Mokuba stared at me, trying to tell if I was lying. We still motionless for a few seconds before he let me pass him by. We both walked into the living room.

I stopped in my tracks.

Standing in the center of the room, talking casually to Kaelyn was in the top five people that I never would have expected to see. The top of that list being Gozaburo himself.

"You promised." Mokuba whispered as he walked by me.

I just watched my brother walk up to Gansley and join in the conversation. There was a point that he actually laughed.

Memories began to fill my head. Times where I was trapped, fighting my way out of Gansley's grasp while Gozaburo prepared for a "lesson." Days I spent, trying to avoid Gansley, knowing that he was to report my every action to my step-father. Hours spent cowering from the men, lying on the floor, praying for my life to end.

And there was the man, talking casually to my brother. Mokuba didn't seem to care.

"Seto." Mokuba said. I knew that tone. He was trying to remind me of my promise without actually voicing it. Yet, I couldn't move.

Gansley turned around to face me at that point, his expression one I had seen many times, so it was nothing unfamiliar to me.

Walking briskly to me, he extended a hand. "Its nice to see you again, Seto. Or do you prefer Ryoko now?"

I stared blankly at him. This had to be a joke. A sick, cruel joke. A trap, maybe Gozaburo would come through the door at any moment to kill Mokuba and I. That had to be it. This wasn't really happening.

"Seto?" Kaelyn's voice barely reached my ears through the haze of thought surrounding my mind. I couldn't find words to say.

"Mokuba, did he just fall into a coma or something?" She asked, irritated at my silence.

"No." Mokuba said, an annoyed edge creeping into his tone. "But his is breaking a promise!"

That pulled me out of it. Ignoring Gansley, I looked past him to Mokuba.

"What is this?" I demanded.

Kaelyn seemed confused, and I didn't blame her, she didn't know about my history with this particular man. Mokuba, however, should have known very well by this point.

"He helped me escape Seto! Kept me safe while I was in the palace. Gansley turned on Gozaburo to help us, calm down."

I didn't calm down. I didn't believe a word that he was saying. This demon couldn't have been fighting with us this entire time. I knew him, I knew what he was capable of, why didn't Mokuba understand that?

"How can you expect me to calm down?"

"Because you promised!"

"You didn't tell me everything before I made that promise!"

"So? A promise is still a promise!"

Kaelyn raised her hand. "Can I cut in?" She asked. Our sudden silence was the best reply that she was going to get from us.

"What is going on?" She asked.

"It appears that Seto still hasn't grown up." Gansley stated, finally pulling his hand back. I glared at him without response.

"You two know each other?" She questioned.

"Yes, I was one of his instructors when he was younger." Gansley answered.

Instructors? The thought was almost enough to humor me. In what course? Physical abuse? Did he not think that I would tell her the truth? Why would he bother lying?

"And not a very good one." Mokuba mumbled. Gansley looked offended.

"I'm sorry, do you also have a problem with me? What have I ever done to you?"

I saw the confliction in Mokuba's eyes. Gansley was telling the truth. He had never touched Mokuba or done anything to harm him. I had made sure of that.

Then I remembered something. I hadn't told Mokuba about Gansley's actions when we were younger. What had he figured out?

When Mokuba couldn't answer, Gansley turned back to me.

"Can we not just put the past behind us?" He asked.

"You might be able to, but I'm reminded of it everyday." I replied, finally finding the proper words to say.

Gansley shrugged as if he understood what I meant. He may know what I was referring to, but he would never be able to feel the torture that he had put me through. He would never have to live with the permanent reminders of those days. Gansley wouldn't have to look at the scars everyday.

But I had to. Not a day went by that I didn't see them; each day I could feel each one of the deep markings on my body. He may have left that in the past, but I couldn't.

"I don't know what your feud is with each other, but for now, its over. Gansley is the only reason you have Mokuba back." Kaelyn stated.

I glanced over to Mokuba. He was sending me a silent request to just let it go.

"For now." He mouthed.

Even the best of my glares wouldn't phase Mokuba, so I turned to leave the room. I knew that getting out of their sight would help me think more clearly. Maybe I could come up with a solution, or at least a way to keep Gansley away from me.

I was pulled roughly backwards before I had taken two steps. The hand on my arm held me tight enough that the lower portion of my arm fell numb.

Gansley brought me over to Mokuba and Kaelyn, who were too shocked at his action to say anything. I found myself sharing the same mindset.

"We are all going to talk over the events of last night and what we will be doing next." He commanded.

"Let go of my arm." I spat, trying to break out of his grasp. However, Gansley hadn't lost any strength over the past few years, and I couldn't get away.

"Gansley, what are you doing?" Mokuba exclaimed.

"I'm doing what it takes to get the job done. I betrayed the most powerful and deadly man that has ever existed, I'm not letting some kid mess that up for me. Now, can we get to work?"

Kaelyn, who had remained quiet for a few minutes, chose this as the moment to step up. "We are all going to talk about this, Seto included." She sent me a dirty look as she spoke. "He isn't going anywhere, right?"

They all turned to me to wait for my answer.

"Let me go."

Gansley shook his head. "Only if you are going to stay. We have more important matters than our past. Don't you want to stop your father?"

"He isn't our father." Mokuba stated.

"Of course, how could I have forgotten? Now can we get this going?"

Gansley walked over to the couch, and since he hadn't released my arm yet, I was dragged along with him. He forced me beside him, his grip remaining firm the entire time.

"I'll stay, now let go."

Normally, I wouldn't have given in that easily, but the lower portion of my arm was completely numb, and I knew that regaining feeling was essential.

The sudden rush of blood was more painful than I had been expecting. However, I ignored the pain and tried to speed up the process by moving my fingers around quickly. It took a few minutes to fully regain use of my hand.

"Excellent. Now, where do we need to start? Agent, you seem to know what you are doing in these situations."

I hated how civil Gansley could act. Somehow, I thought that I would feel better if he would just show everyone what type of person he truly was. As if that would solve all my problems.

"Well, our last operation-" She paused, taking a deep breath. And although Kae didn't like to show emotion, I knew that she was having problems talking about Malik's death.

"Our last operation-" She continued, once she had collected herself, "didn't go quite as planned. Yes, our main goal was to rescue Mokuba, but we also hope that we could get to the items at the same time. Since that didn't work, we will have to try again."

"You think you can get to those items without someone on the inside?" Gansley scoffed.

Kaelyn glared at him for the rude interruption.

"We can't just stop trying, so we will do what we can. Now, the biggest question on our hands is whether or not we wait to retry. If we do it now, the element of surprize comes into play, but the guard will be up. If we wait, they might let the guard down, but they will have more time to prepare."

We all considered it carefully. I, who wasn't one for not speaking up, went next.

"This isn't going to be possible with only five people."

"You're right. Ryou is currently making arrangements to fix that problem."

Mokuba turned to look at Kaelyn. "What does that mean?"

She shrugged. Glancing around the room quickly, she walked over to a chair. She then grabbed the back of it and drug it near the couch to sit down near Gansley and me. Mokuba took the open spot beside me on the couch.

"You didn't ask?" I said.

"No, he said that he would handle it. Have some faith in him, Seto."

"What about my idea?" Mokuba said.

I didn't like his idea. Mokuba going back to the palace was the last thing that I wanted to happen. Gozaburo wanted both of us, so if I went back in, I couldn't let that happen.

"And what idea is that?" Kaelyn asked.

"If we can get to the Sealed room, to the box with the Book of the Dead in it, I can get it open. Seth gave me the ability to read the language on the box, and I hope the book too. But he told me to read the last page, which I'm hoping is the answer to all of this. Maybe we can undo everything Gozaburo has done."

Kaelyn leaned forward in her chair, seemingly interested with Mokuba's plan.

"Why else would Seth tell you to read the last page? That has to be important." She turned to Gansley. "Are the items in the same room?"

"As long as they didn't move them. We managed to keep Mr. Kaiba from switching their location."

Kaelyn stood up and started pacing. At least I knew that she was coming up with an idea. In the past, I would have told her to stop, but we needed a plan.

"Seto." Mokuba whispered, leaning over so he could talk in my ear. "Thank you for coming for me."

I smiled at Mokuba. He looked so happy at that moment, and even though I didn't know what brought on the subject, I was just happy to have him back.

I reached down to take his hand so I could bring him closer to me.

"I promised you Mokuba. I'm just sorry it took so long."

While Mokuba and I were talking Kaelyn stopped pacing across the room.

"I have an idea, but it will take a few days to set up, and we will have to have Ryou's back up. Five people isn't enough. Not nearly."

"Want to tell us your great plan?" I asked.

Kaelyn reclaimed her seat, and proceeded to describe each detail to us.

-End


	13. Chapter 13

Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter. I know it took me forever to write. Actually, everything seems to take me forever to write. Haha- but I'm trying to do better! So here is the next chapter of Arose Power, and so soon after the update of Possessions!

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter! KaelynnD! Also, talk to me on AIM! LendingDreams!

KaibasGirl007- Welcome back! And yes, I seriously need a beta reader. Haha- I never can spot those details. But I do remember choosing five men for a reason. . . But now I don't remember what that reason was. There was a thought process behind it though.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh.

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**Seto's POV**

Two months seemed more like two years while in hiding. Gozaburo sent men to search the towns around Giza daily, and there was no way to predict when they were going to come. Mokuba and I had spent more time than I would have thought possible in the small space behind the fireplace. Kaelyn had said that they searched every other inch of the house, so that was our only option.

In the times that the guards weren't tearing through the streets, I had no way to spend my time. Mokuba had caught me up on everything that had happened to him, and I had told him all that had happened to me, so now all of our conversations were about things that were happening at the time. And that didn't give us much to talk about.

Kaelyn had told us a few weeks back that she had a plan, and gave us only pieces of it. It did involve bringing a few extra people in to help, but I didn't know who. She insisted that part of her job was keeping things hidden, and that included names. Mokuba and I tried every trick that we could think of to get her to give up any information, but she stayed firm.

I decided that she must be bringing people from outside Egypt. That was the only reason that it could be taking her so long. It took Mr. Motou and I months to come over from America, so that was the only lead that I had so far.

Another thing that I had been dealing with over the slowly passing time was Gansley. He wasn't able to leave the house either, and that put us in too close of a proximity for my taste. Mokuba kept trying to convince me that he was all right, but that didn't increase my trust in him anymore. In my mind, he would always be the man who tortured a child, how could someone grow out of that?

Mokuba and I were currently lying on the bed in Ryou's room. Which was now technically our room. I couldn't stay in Malik's room without the memories of his death coming up, and neither could Ryou. Kaelyn took Malik's room saying that she could handle it, and Gansley and Ryou slept on the couches in the living room. This situation seemed to work the best for everyone.

Unfortunately, there was nothing to do in Ryou's bedroom. There wasn't too much to do in the entire house, so the days were mostly filled with Mokuba and I sitting around doing nothing. We couldn't leave the house due to the number of guards on the street looking for us, so we were trapped inside. Kae tried to make things easier by bringing us books or other means of entertainment, but even those could only keep us occupied for so long.

"Seto. Why do you think this is taking so long?" Mokuba asked.

I turned to give him an blank look. That was the fourth time he had asked that question today, and I had told him the same thing every time.

"Because Kae is bringing people from other places to help us. They have to travel a distance to get here."

"From where do you think?"

"I don't know. Somewhere outside of Egypt?" I said.

Mokuba, who had been lying on his back, rolled over so our heads were right next to each other. "Seto, that is a boring answer. You can't think of any other place in the world that Kaelyn would bring people from?"

It didn't take me long to understand what he was doing. It was one of his odd ways of passing the time. He often made up random games that I had to participate in, and this was one of them.

"America. She is bringing over the President." I suggested.

"Really? What could the President to about Gozaburo? Debate him?" Mokuba argued.

"Then someone from Russia is coming over. Maybe a member of the mafia?"

"All right. The mafia might be able to do a bit more. Perhaps they can come up with a plan to get the items away from Gozaburo. But I doubt that they could kill him. Who else?"

I tried to think of someone that Mokuba would agree with. It had to be completely ridiculous, otherwise he would argue with me. In his bored state, Mokuba was looking for comedy.

"Then she is bringing in a Canadian. And enough moose to cause a stampede. The member of the mafia will lure Gozaburo out into the street so he can be run over."

Mokuba barely cracked a smile. "Seriously? You want to beat Gozaburo with a stampede of moose."

I nodded.

"That's lame Seto."

Our conversation didn't continue. The door opened and Gansley was standing on the other side.

"What?" I asked, irritated at his arrival.

"Kaelyn is back, and she has some people with her that I'm sure you will want to see." He answered.

"Are those the people that she is bringing to help us?" Mokuba asked, rolling off the bed so he could walk over to the door.

"I believe so. And you may know a few of them."

He gestured to the living room, and Mokuba followed him immediately. I took my time getting off the bed and following after Mokuba. Whoever Kae brought could wait to see me for a few extra seconds.

When I entered the living room, the first thing I saw was Joey Wheeler standing next to Mokuba. They were talking excitedly and hugging their greeting. Yugi was standing beside them, and I was surprisingly proud to see that Mokuba was now much taller than Yugi.

Kaelyn was standing to the side, talking to a man that I didn't recognize. They weren't nearly as excited to see each other as Mokuba, Joey and Yugi were.

That was when I noticed another member in the group. She was standing behind Wheeler, talking to Ryou. I had no idea why Kae had brought her over, but I sincerely wished that she hadn't. I didn't want to face Isis Ishtar.

She had to have noticed that Malik wasn't here. I didn't know if Kaelyn had told her about his death or not, but even if she had, I knew that I would have to talk to Malik's sister.

At first I thought that I was the only witness to his death, but then the realization came upon me that there was another.

Gansley had been in the room while Gozaburo was killing Malik. He probably knew better than I what had happened. However, I wouldn't hurt Isis by making her listen to what had happened through Gansley's eyes. I could at least soften the story to make it sound less gruesome, something that Gansley wouldn't consider doing.

"Moneybags!" Wheeler shouted. I was confused as to why he was excited to see me.

I was even more confused when he ran over and pulled me into a hug, one that lasted much longer than I considered normal. I instantly stiffened up and waited out the hug.

"Wheeler." At least, I waited as long as I could.

"Sorry man. I'm just excited to see you. We were afraid that something had happened." He answered, pulling away from the hug.

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"I invited them." Kaelyn said, walking over to us. "I need them for my plan."

I glanced over to the man that I didn't know. "Who is he?"

"That is Carter. He is one of my agent friends. I asked him to escort Joey, Yugi and Isis over safetly. And I figured that he would be able to help me too."

I stared at him, taking him in. He certainly did look like a cop, with the short hair-cut and button up shirt, anyone who knew anything about police officers would be able to spot him.

"That is really cool Kaelyn! Will you please tell us the rest of your plan now?" Mokuba asked.

"Where is Malik?"

Isis' voice cut through the conversation, reminding me that I still had to speak to her.

The silence that filled the room made me uncomfortable. Everyone's eyes were turned to me, with the exception of the new arrivals. Isis looked curiously from face to face, finally realising that the room's attention was focused on me.

She stepped forward, face full of worry. "Where is my brother?"

"Can you come with me?" I asked. She needed to know what happened, but I didn't want her to hear the news while in a room full of people.

The expression on her face proved that she knew something was wrong. However, she walked over to me, perpared to hear what I had to say.

We turned to walk out of the living room, but before I could do so, a hand grabbed on my arm.

"Seto"

Mokuba stared up at me. "Do you want me to come with you?" I saw his concern.

"No, I need to do this one alone. Just stay here. Try to fill in Wheeler and Motou on what has been happening."

Mokuba nodded and stepped back. I was glad that he understood that I needed to do this alone. I didn't think that I could do it with him in the room with me. I felt terrible about what happened, and having Mokuba in the room would make it harder for me to tell. His presence would make me feel guilty that I hadn't done anything to help Malik.

We walked back into Ryou's bedroom. I held the door open as she walked by me. I stayed by the door until she took a seat on the bed, at that time, I knew that I had to get started.

I locked the door behind us, to ensure that there were no untimely interruptions. As I faced the door, I took a deep breath. Once I was as composed as I thought possible, I turned around to face Isis.

She wasn't looking at me. By this time, I was sure that she had a general idea as to what had happened. There was no other reason for my stalling, I could only explain to her what happened.

"Please just tell me."

Isis' words left me with an even greater pang of guilt. I sat down beside her, facing the door, hoping that I wouldn't have to look her in the eyes as we talked.

"We had this plan-" I started. I wanted to keep off the subject as long as possible, so I could think over what I wanted to say. I did this by explaining what we were doing in the palace.

"I didn't agree with the idea. My only focus was to find Mokuba. But Kaelyn put Malik and me on a second mission, to steal the Millenium Items."

Isis listened without word. She didn't seen to react to anything I was saying. Her eyes remained fixed on me, but I didn't turn to face her.

"Malik had this idea," I hesistated before continuing. Was telling her that Malik was to blame in his own death really the best option? Maybe I should make it out as an accident, or perhaps even as my own fault? At least that would preserve her memory of Malik.

But then I decided to lean towards the truth. There was no reason for her to blame me for what happened. And whatever Kae had planned would work better if she wasn't mad at me.

So I continued.

"He thought that we were running too far behind and wanted to take a shortcut. I told him that it wasn't a smart action. He wanted to go through Gozaburo's personal living quarters."

That was the first reaction I received from Isis. Her eyes grew much larger, as if she knew the rest of the story. However, I still went on.

"It wasn't long after we went in that we heard the footsteps. Malik helped me hide, but there wasn't time for him to do the same."

I leaned forward, grasping my hands together over my knees. My mind was full of the images from that day, and that made it hard to speak.

"Gozaburo and his men came in at that point. Malik kept their attention so they wouldn't notice that I was hiding. Gozaburo killed him."

I didn't want to go into any details. She had to know that he was dead, none of the specifics. There was no reason that she needed to know the truth, at least, not the whole truth.

"Why would he kill him?" Isis asked. Her voice was low, and it trembled. She wasn't crying, something I hadn't expected. I cried when I saw Malik die, and when Gozaburo took Mokuba. Isis was obviously trying to hold them back.

"Malik gave up the Rod. Gozaburo would have done to Malik what he did to you and simply taken the Rod from him. But since he gave it away, I ended up with it."

"I told him to do that." Isis stated.

I didn't keep talking. That guilt was more than I could have imagined. All I could do was imagine how horrible she must be feeling. The fact that Isis was behind an event that led to her brother's death would be more than I could handle.

"He is dead because of me. Because I told him just to get rid of it." Isis muttered. I could tell that she was talking to herself, an attempt to understand what I told her.

I finally turned to her. Her eyes were closed, pressed tightly together. Each breath seemed forced and she had both hands over her mouth.

"I am so sorry."

It was cliché. But all words left except 'sorry.' For all of my years of education, I felt mindless. Nothing would be acceptable to say in this situation, and I had never had to deal with it before. Comforting wasn't my strongest trait, and I just sat there, waiting for her to say something.

She took a few minutes to compose herself. Eventually, her breathing became even, and she pulled her hands away from her face.

"Thank you for telling me."

"Isis, I-" I started, but a wave of her hand silenced me.

"Please just go. I need some time."

I almost tried to talk to her again, but I respected her request and stood up. If she needed time, I wasn't going to stay in here with her. I had just delivered the worst possible news that she could have received, there was no way that she could take it well.

As I left the room, I heard her crying behind me. I didn't turn back, I just left her in there alone. It took every amount of willpower that I had not to try to console her, but I knew that I would only make her more upset.

The only place left for me to go was back to the living room, which was full of curious faces who wanted to know what had happened. As I entered, every face turned. Mokuba came up to me.

"What happened?" He asked, but not loud enough for the others in the room to hear his words.

"I told her what happened." I answered simply. I didn't want to talk about it, even to the person closest to me. I hadn't even worked everything out in my mind, how could I tell what I was thinking to someone else?

"Seto, you don't want to talk about it?" He said.

"Not now." I responded, walking over to sit against the wall by the fireplace. It was the only place open in the crowded room. I tried to ignore the looks I was receiving, so I closed my eyes to shut them out.

I felt someone sit down next to me. I didn't have to open my eyes to know that it was Mokuba. His hand reached out to take hold of mine, and I received a gentle squeeze from him.

And all though everything seemed to be against me, that one action reminded me that not everything was terrible. I had the one person who was the most important to me. I had fixed my problem. But as I thought about Isis sitting in the other room, mourning the loss of her brother, I knew that I had to do something. I wasn't going to let this go, I would get revenge on Gozaburo. I would do whatever it took, and Malik's death wouldn't be meaningless.

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Sorry it took so long! But guess what, only three more chapters to go! Crazy right? I didn't realise that it was so little until I counted it all out. Three scenes to go, until I cut one of them in half.

**_Preview: _**Climax Part One. Seto and group break into the palace, determined to stay until the job is finished. Character death in the next chapter, so be warned!

Please review!


	14. Chapter 14

You know, the longer I work on this series, the more and more ideas I get. But I don't have the readers to keep going in the series. I have a third and final story in mind, but I know that I will never get around to it. I mean, I got one review for the last chapter. As much as I love this series, this will be the last story I post about it.

But for all of you readers who still like this, here is the climax! It is finally here. If I counted it out correctly, there are only three chapters left, this one included. Wow, and it only took me three years to get here.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Yugioh.

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**Seto's POV**

Kaelyn's plan made me sick. Once Isis had come out of Ryou's room and we were all together, Kaelyn announced her plan.

We had only one chance to get this right. But we all came to an agreement, no matter what, we were going to finish tonight. No one was leaving until the job was done, or we were all dead.

My job was probably the hardest of all. Kae had pulled me aside to inform me that she wanted me to completely understand what she wanted out of me. During the group meeting, I was simply referred to as the distraction, but the truth was much harder to take in.

I was suppose to distract Gozaburo. Kaelyn wanted me to get caught and stall until the others could complete their mission to take the items. They had the easy job, just sneaking around until they reached the Sealed Room.

I had to get caught, then most likely tortured while I waited.

But getting caught was more difficult than I would have thought. If it was too easy then Gozaburo might get suspicious. I had to make sure I was seen, then actually try to escape. Well, escape without using any passageways. That would make it much simpler to get away, and as much as I didn't want to get caught, I had to.

And that was what I was currently doing. Running through the long hallways that I had designed. We had entered the palace about half an hour ago, and it had taken me about ten minutes to get seen. Before that, a few maids and servants saw me, but they didn't report me. They knew their place and even though they knew who I was, they remained silent.

I ended up going to Gozaburo's personal quarters, but not the same room the Malik was killed in. I wouldn't revisit those memories, not at a time like this. Focus was all that I needed, and the ability to run.

As it happened, Lector was the one who saw me first. It took him half a second to realize what was happening, and within moments, alarms were being sent out all across the palace.

Once I was certain that I had been seen, I ran with all that I had. Kaelyn and the others needed time to accomplish their goal, and the longer I could stay away from Gozaburo, the better chance they had of completing their goal.

I stayed away from the half of the palace that Kae and Mokuba were on. They had split everyone into two groups with the hope that if one group was stopped, the other would get through.

Kae had stacked the odds in favor of Mokuba's group, sending Carson, Wheeler and Ryou with him. Mokuba was the most important person in this mission. If he couldn't get into the Sealed Room, the best they could do is take the items, there was no way to undo everything that Gozaburo had done. Mokuba was the only chance to turn things around.

More and more people were beginning to chase after me. At first, it was just a few people. Now it seemed as though every one of the palace's occupants were behind me. Occasionally, they would get smart and try to cut me off from the front. However, I designed this palace, they would have to do better than that to surround me.

Voices were coming from all around, shouting and throwing out orders. If I listened carefully, I could discover where they were planning on surrounding me, where they had set up barricades. I could avoid all areas that would be a problem, which allowed me more time, which allowed Mokuba more time.

Of course, I couldn't go on forever. As I was tiring, their numbers were steadily rising. It was only a matter of minutes until I would lose all strength. All I could hope for was that I had avoided capture long enough that I had successfully acted out my part.

My mind was telling me to keep running, not to let anyone capture me. I didn't want to get caught because I knew what would happened. Gozaburo's main reason behind all of the past year's events was to kill me. Tonight, I had to make him think that he had won. All I could hope for was that he would draw out my death long enough that Mokuba could remove his powers. But even if that didn't happen, at least I knew that my death wouldn't be in vain.

I summoned up every ounce of courage I had. Now was the time to get captured.

I still ran. I had to make sure that I was convincing, but I started to pay closer attention to the voices following me. When I heard that they had gunmen at a specific exit, I chose that one to run towards. I wouldn't get shot, but if they had guns pointed at me, that was a perfect excuse to give in. No one would doubt my surrender with dozens of guns locked on me.

My destination seemed to arrive much too quickly. As I turned the final corner, I heard shouts of "Hands in the air!" and "You're surrounded!" Those were followed by the clicking of many guns.

I did as they commanded. Stopping in place, I let the men who had been chasing me catch up. As I tried to regulate my breathing, I felt hands grabbing on to me.

Someone pulled my own hands behind my back, not taking any care to be gentle. The steel of the handcuffs was cold against my wrists, and as they closed into place, I gave a silent prayer that I had stalled long enough.

A gun was pressed against my neck and I was commanded to walk. We traveled through the hallways, and I brought the blueprints to the front of my mind. We were headed down a hallway that ran east to west. If we had been going east, that would have lead towards Mokuba and Kaelyn, but luckily, we were going west.

Then I reconsidered that thought. It wasn't lucky for me, just for the others. The west end took me to offices. That was most likely where Gozaburo was.

The walk over was done in complete silence. I assumed that none of the guards knew what to say with me around. When they were done with me, I knew that they would start bragging about the incredible job they did with my capture. If only they knew the truth.

I decided that even though my hands were tied behind my back and I had a gun to my neck, I was going to walk with pride. I still was Seto Kaiba. No matter what, they weren't going to take that away from me.

We approached a door. There was no hesitation before we entered. It wasn't my option, and the men holding me were eager to turn me in.

This was the office that I had designed specifically for Gozaburo. I hadn't been in charge of the decorations, but looking around, I could tell that it didn't look like anyone was placed over decorations. Everything was completely bland, as though only the practical items were inside. Couches, bookshelves, desk, chairs; just an average office.

Gozaburo was sitting at the desk. Johnson was standing to his side and they seemed to have been discussing something before we entered.

I held my breath as Gozaburo turned to face me. When his eyes locked with mine, I could see a glint of excitement. He didn't speak as he carefully examined me. A slight appearance of disbelief crossed his face before fading out.

"Everyone out." Gozaburo commanded.

Immediately, everyone began to file out. I was shoved forward in the general direction of Gozaburo as the room cleared out. Soon, only Johnson was left.

I stood where I was, feeling incredibly awkward. My hands were still cuffed behind my back, which made the situation all the more uncomfortable.

"What are you doing here?" Gozaburo asked, standing up and walking towards me. I didn't flinch as he closed the space between us, all though I desperately wanted to run away.

I was so distracted that I forgot to answer his question. Not that I would have been able to give him a truthful answer, but I supposed that he knew that.

"Seto- or Ryoko isn't it? You remember that I don't like being kept waiting, right?"

"I designed the place. I'm just checking on things." I answered.

Gozaburo smiled at me. He seemed to enjoy this moment more than a normal person would. Then again, there wasn't anything normal about Gozaburo.

"Seto, don't get smart with me. I have far less patience than I did a few years back, now, why are you here?"

"You really have to ask that?" I questioned. Of course he knew that I was here to try to defeat him. He had to know that I was here to stop him.

"And Mokuba?" Gozaburo asked.

That was a question that I would never answer. Even if Mokuba had been miles away, or across the ocean, I never would have told him where my brother was. But since Mokuba was so close, I couldn't let anything slip.

So I didn't answer.

"Where is your brother?" After he spoke, Gozaburo gave a small chuckle. "It seems like I've had this conversation so many times."

He reached out and grabbed onto my arm, pulling me across the room to where he had been sitting. I winced when he threw me into the chair. With my hands behind me, they were pressed into a painful position. I tried to forget about that and pay attention to Gozaburo so I could try to find ways to stall even longer.

"I had this vision a year ago, a vision about what I would do when I finally had the opportunity to take my revenge on you. And here is the thing, Mokuba was a large part of this vision. I'd greatly appreciate it if you would just tell me where he is."

I could tell that he was faking a polite tone. He was the man who taught me how to manipulate people into doing what I wanted them to do. We were both experts in reading and controlling others, which made this all the more dangerous.

"I'm not telling you anything." I answered simply. But of course he expected the response.

"Johnson, can you go find the others?" Gozaburo asked.

Johnson nodded and ran out, leaving me alone with my step-father. I tried to maintain my composure, trying not to show any fear. But just because I wasn't showing fear, that didn't mean that I wasn't feeling it. I was terrified. Gozaburo had some unknown powers, and since I didn't know what they were, there was no way to predict what he could do.

"You don't want to cross me. I'm not the same man that I was back at home." He said, his tone losing its polite sound. He was now leaning on the desk in front of me.

"I hadn't noticed." I stated, trying to be sarcastic. I decided that might as well go down fighting because I knew that I wouldn't leave this room alive.

Gozaburo just stared at me. He appeared to be trying to read me, so I just stared back. It had been so long since I had been at his mercy, memories began to flood back. Pushing them aside, I waited for Gozaburo's next move.

Eventually, he spoke.

"I'll make you a deal. If you tell me where Mokuba is, I'll make your death easier."

"I'm going to die either way. I will not tell you where Mokuba is." I answered.

He shrugged. "It was worth a shot. Now tell me, are you here alone?"

I kept my mouth closed. I was thinking over all possible options for answers. He knew that others were with me, I wasn't stupid enough to come in alone. But if I said yes, he would just push for more information. So my only decision was picking one that took more time.

"Of course." I said, knowing full well that he knew I was lying.

"I have been working towards this moment for over a year. Planning out every detail with such precision that nothing could go wrong. This moment is all I care about. So if you don't want to talk, I will make you talk."

I didn't show any signs of fear. Gozaburo could threaten me all that he wanted, I wasn't going to speak.

Gozaburo picked a letter opener off his desk, twirling it between his fingers.

"Amazing how well pain works, isn't it? You were such a stubborn child, but it didn't take much to train you."

I bit my tongue. He was trying to get a reaction from me and I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of getting angry.

"Just a few lessons a week, that was all it really took."

Gozaburo stopped there and smirked. "How did you and Gansley end up on the same side? That was the most surprising thing that has happened in quite some time. It must have taken some self restraint to overcome your past."

That got a slight response. I couldn't help it. It wasn't a strong reaction, just a slight wrinkling of my nose. And that was all he needed.

"You didn't set that up? I should have known that you weren't behind turning him. Was it this Kelli Dallat character?"

I still didn't say anything. Kaelyn had to remain a secret. I still hated the fact that she left that information in our house for Gozaburo to find. It didn't accomplish anything except putting her in more danger.

"Answer my question." He ordered.

"Who?"

He took the letter opener and held it in a more threatening manner. However, I wasn't afraid of the small knife. He had used worse before.

"The girl working with you. Remember, the nice message you left me on your wall? That wasn't your handwriting."

I didn't think that he would notice that. It had been Kae's idea, so I let her write it out. But as I thought back on it, it should have been apparent that he would see the differences. Even the slant of the letters was off. Kaelyn was right handed and I was left handed.

"I'm getting tired of waiting for you to talk." Gozaburo stated, leaving the desk he was leaning on behind and he stepped towards me.

But he didn't have the chance to do anything. The door swung open and we both turned to see who was entering.

"Mr. Kaiba, guess who we found?" Lector announced.

Crump and Nesbitt were dragging Gansley behind them, and Johnson walked behind with a gun.

Gansley glanced up at me, anger plastered on his face. I was more worried about the group that he was with, were they all right?

I stared at him, hoping that he would give me some sign as to whether or not the others were safe. He seemed more worried about himself than anything else.

"Gansley, I didn't think that I would be seeing you here so soon. Welcome home." Gozaburo said. For a moment, he forgot me sitting there and walked over to Gansley.

Then in one swift action, he punched Gansley across the face. Gansley grunted in pain, then spat at Gozaburo's feet.

"This is turning out to be a great day for me." Gozaburo said. "Two deaths in one night."

So he was planning on killing both of us, now the only question was how. I didn't think that I would be killed quickly, but I couldn't say the same for Gansley.

"Was he alone?" Gozaburo asked.

"We didn't find anyone else in the area." Crump answered.

"What area?"

"Near to the Sealed Room." He responded.

Gozaburo turned to me. "That was your plan? Split up and hope that someone makes it to the items? That is the best you can come up with?"

"Did you put anyone else in that area? Is anyone currently looking for others who may have been with him?" He added.

"Yes, Kimo is in charge of that." Johnson responded.

Gozaburo nodded, then quickly glanced between me and Gansley. He did this a few times before he finally spoke.

"Seto, I'm going to do you a favor. Before you die, I'm going to give you some revenge. How does that sound?"

I must have looked confused. I felt confused. How was he going to give me revenge? And for what? I stared at him and waited for an explanation.

"Move Gansley over here." Gozaburo ordered.

Gozaburo reached out and pulled me to my feet. I tried to pull out of his grasp, but the effort was in vain. It was more an attempt to show that I wasn't going to cooperate.

I knew Gozaburo didn't have the key to the handcuffs, but they were pulled off when I was on my feet. However, as soon as the cuffs were off, Crump and Johnson grabbed onto my arms. Nesbitt and Lector did the same with Gansley.

Gozaburo began to rifle through a desk drawer until he found a knife that was much larger than the letter opener he had been holding. He moved to stand in front of me, grabbed my shirt and cut it open. Before long, my shirt was thrown on the floor.

Gozaburo took the time to examine my chest. It was covered with scars that Gozaburo and Gansley had inflicted so many years ago. When he extended a hand to trace them, I tried to pull away. Crump and Johnson's grip was too strong. I had to stand there while my step-father looked at every scar, smiling as he did so.

"Here, take off his shirt too." Gozaburo said, handing the knife to Lector.

While Lector worked to take of Gansley's shirt, Gozaburo turned back to me, his hands still running across my body.

"I'm curious, what would happen if I reopened everyone of these?" His hand went up to my face, brushing my hair out of my eyes to see the scar that lay between.

"How long would it take you to die? How long before you bleed to death?" He said.

Gozaburo let his hand drop to my jaw. He forced me to stare him in the eyes while he spoke his next words.

"No worries. I'm not going to try it on you."

That was when I understood what was happening, and apparently, Gansley figured it out at the same moment as I did. He began struggling in the grasp of Lector and Nesbitt, who now had his shirt off.

My step father stood next to me, keeping one hand on my jaw to force me to watch. His other hand reached out towards Gansley.

"I love demonstrating my powers. Let's start with your first scar, shall we?" He said, then started his work.

Gansley screamed as the long cut appeared on his face. It was an exact mirror image of mine. With the amount of blood that came out, I could tell that it was just as deep as mine had been.

"How does that make you feel, son? Aren't you glad that he is now feeling your pain?" Gozaburo mocked, his fingernails digging into my skin as his grip grew tighter.

If Gozaburo wanted an answer, he didn't give any time for me to give him one. Gozaburo pointed a finger at Gansley's chest, and as he moved it, a cut began to open up. With every movement of his finger, a cut was drawn onto Gansley's skin.

I had to watch as blood flowed freely from his body. Gozaburo wouldn't let me so much as blink without tightening his grasp on me. And all though I couldn't see his face, I knew that he was enjoying every moment of Gansley's torture.

My feelings were torn.

On one hand, I knew that no one ever deserved the treatment that Gansley was receiving. I had to bear it over years, not all at once. I understood what a toll it took on the body, and how only a monster could inflict such damage to another human being.

But another part of me realized that I wouldn't know any of this if Gansley hadn't done the same thing to me years earlier. He was part of the reason that I knew what true pain was, and somewhere in me, I was glad he was going through it. That he was living through the pain he had cause me.

I felt guilty after thinking that. He had changed. I didn't want to admit it, but Gansley had saved Mokuba. He was trying to do what was right. That had to count for something, even in my mind.

When Gozaburo first began his torture on the former Big Five member, Gansley had been struggling with all his might to escape. Now, he barely moved. His entire chest resembled a waterfall. That is, if waterfalls poured blood. A puddle had formed at his feet, growing larger with each cut.

Eventually, Gansley didn't move at all. His chest stopped rising and falling as the sound of his breaths were no longer heard.

Gozaburo continued even after I knew Gansley was dead. He didn't stop until every one of my scars had been copied onto Gansley. Once that was done, he took his hand off my face.

"Wasn't that fun?" Gozaburo asked. The men in the room all smirked. Nesbitt and Lector dropped Gansley's body to the floor, into the puddle of blood.

Gozaburo walked to where he was standing in front of me, but I couldn't make eye contact, not after what he had just done. My eyes were on my feet, the only thing in the room that was safe to look at.

"Now what should I do with you?" Gozaburo said, clearly thinking out loud. He tapped his fingers on his chin in a fake show of deep thought.

When I didn't react, Gozaburo said, "Lector."

Lector apparently knew what Gozaburo wanted. He quickly moved to stand behind me and took a hold on my hair, pulling my head back until my eyes locked with the Ruler's.

"Better." Gozaburo stated.

The door behind me flew open at that moment, and in ran two guards. I couldn't see them, but it only made sense. Who else would enter at this point in time?

"I am sorry for the interruption your greatness, but someone has broken into the Sealed Room."

Gozaburo's eyes didn't leave me as he received the news. I could tell that he knew exactly what was happening.

"You were the distraction?" He spat angrily. He then turned his gaze to the men holding me. "Let him go."

My arms and hair were immediately released, but I wasn't even free for a second before Gozaburo reached out to grab my neck. He pulled me so our faces were only inches away.

"When I find Mokuba, I'm going to make you kill him."

I couldn't answer. I knew that Mokuba was in that room. And Gozaburo was on his way down.

Gozaburo smirked as if he knew what I was thinking. Without warning, he began to walk, pulling me along with him.

* * *

Ta Da! I bet you weren't expecting an update this quickly were you?

**Preview: **_Well, here it is. Only two chapters left, and the final battle will take place just one chapter away. Mokuba tries to open the box, and one side will come out victorious._

**Review!**


	15. Chapter 15

ATTENTION ALL READERS! I've done it! After years and years of working on this story, I've finally reached the climax. I'll admit, it isn't perfect, but it is written out, I can see it. Here it is, the final face off between Gozaburo, Seto and Mokuba. You can now read it!

Disclaimer: If you don't know this by now, I'm in shock! I don't own Yugioh!

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**Kaelyn's POV**

I understood why Gozaburo chose this room. Even though there were two entrance points, both were well hidden. Which was the reason we divided into two groups. Seto had designed the palace so every room had two access points. To help ensure that one group made it, we split up.

However, both groups made it safety. Gansley being the only exception. I knew that he had given himself up, to protect those with him. I appreciated his action, but felt nothing more. Mokuba had informed me of the relationship between Seto and Gansley. I now understood why Seto had reacted so harshly to Gansley's every move. Seto was right.

I glanced across the room. Mokuba was examining the box. His hands were sliding slowly on the surface, taking in each detail.

Joey and Carson were keeping watch beside the main door. They were talking quietly between themselves, trying to pass the time. Occasionally, their conversation would stop, then they both listened. Once they verified that the coast was clear, the conversation resumed.

Isis, Yugi, and Ryou were hovering around the table that held the Millienium Items. I could see clearly what each was feeling. Yugi was eager to get the Puzzle back. His hand reached out, as if he was about to take it, but then reconsidered. Ryou glared at the Ring, as though his mind was full of memories, and not pleasant ones. Isis' glance was shifting between her Ring and the Rod. The Rod would have to remind her of Malik, but her desire was to have the Rod.

I myself was standing by the second door. I wasn't actually guarding it. If guards came in, there wouldn't be much I could do. Also, I had barricaded the door down the hallway, which made me doubt that anyone would be coming in that way.

I was mostly waiting for something to happen. we had been down here for five minutes. That meant that if all had gone properly, Seto would have been with Gozaburo for half an hour. With Gansley's capture, I knew our presence was known. I gave it three minutes.

It was at that time that I heard Mokuba begin to talk. Since I didn't understand a thing that came out of his mouth, I assumed that he was reciting the text on the box.

All eyes turned to him, but Mokuba didn't seem to notice. His entire focus was on the words he was saying.

There wasn't much to read. He only spoke for half a minute before stopping and stepping back. Mokuba took a moment to breathe, then reached to the lid of the box.

All breath in the room was held as he began to left up the lid.

It opened. There was no miraculous event or flash of light when the top came off. The box just, opened.

No one had time to grow excited over what we had just accomplished. Carson exclaimed, "Footsteps!"

I immediately responded. "Wheeler, Isis, Motou, Bakura, head back into the hallway and stay there. Do not come out unless I say so. Carson, go and guard them. Mokuba, what do you need help with?"

"I just need time." Mokuba said, removing the book and laying it gently on the table.

The others all left, leaving myself and Mokuba alone. By this time, I too could hear the sound of people moving down the hallway, heading for the entrance. From the volume of the steps, I decided that we had thirty seconds at the most.

"Kae, go hide." Mokuba ordered. He was trying to open the book without tearing any pages or the spine. It was apparent that he could tell that they would arrive in just a few moments. But I was distracting him from his task, so I ran to the other doorway.

I waited, leaning against the wall, as close to the door as I dared. I wanted to now what happened in that room; if Mokuba needed my help, I had to be nearby.

As I pressed my back against the wall, I was reminded of the weapon hidden in my belt. It would do me no good to use it when things went bad, but maybe if I waited until the right time. But as I thought of it, there wouldn't be a right time for me. I knew that I would leap into the room at the first sign of trouble. I needed to think of a better plan.

Then it came to me. I pulled the metal object out, and turned to the others standing nearby. There was one person that I thought could handle this, but that didn't raise my confidence.

"Wheeler. Come here." I whispered. When he moved next to me, I held out the weapon.

"Take it. Don't use it until the right time."

"How will I know?" He asked, taking it from me.

That was a question that I couldn't answer. I didn't know what was going to happen. He would have to base it on common sense. And as I had heard, he didn't have much of that.

I wish that Carson could take that responsibility from Wheeler. But I needed him to protect the others, and he couldn't do that while watching for the perfect moment.

The room adjoined to my hiding place instantly turned to chaos.

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**Seto's POV**

I had been counting the minutes since I had begun my run through the hallways. Staying focused on time was difficult, especially while being trapped in Gozaburo's grasp. So I wasn't certain if my estimate was completely accurate. I had come up with thirty-three minutes, approximately.

Now we were nearing the Sealed Room. Along the way, several guards had run up, saying that the back entrance was blocked off. That news only served to anger Gozaburo more. He shouted out orders and people rushed to follow them. I could only walk beside him and try to keep up. He didn't even seem to notice me. The only attention he paid to me was to keep his grip on my arm. Aside from that, he never even glanced in my direction.

"Mr. Kaiba! Two men reported seeing seven people moving through the halls. One of them was Mokuba." Crump said.

"All in the Sealed Room?" He questioned, never stopping his approach on the Sealed Room.

"Yes sir."

"That makes it easier for us then. Is everyone is position?"

"Half of your men are stationed at the backdoor so they can't escape that way. The other half are awaiting your arrival at the main entrance." Crump answered.

Gozaburo didn't respond to that. Perhaps it didn't quite merit an answer, or maybe it was just focused on reaching his destination.

Since I knew each hallway and room in this building, I began to grow anxious about how close we were. Three more hallways and one flight of stairs, that was all we had left to travel.

Thirty-five minutes.

I wondered how Mokuba was doing. The only thing I hoped for was that Mokuba had completed his half of the mission. If he hadn't finished that by the time Gozaburo arrived, then everything we had gone through would have been in vain. I couldn't handle the thought of losing it all.

I couldn't handle losing Mokuba again.

When we reached the door, everyone stopped. Gozaburo positioned men on either side of the door and put two men in front of him, guns drawn.

"Go in shooting, just don't shoot Mokuba." Then he turned to me. "I don't want to hear a word out of you."

I immediately couldn't open my mouth. It wasn't just that I couldn't speak, but my lips were literally sealed closed.

The gun flew open and gun fired began instantly rang out. The two men ran in first, then Lector, Johnson, Crump, and Nesbitt followed.

Through the group of men, I could see Mokuba. As I was pulled into the room, my brother's expression shifted quickly. It began as shock, then confusion as he noticed that I wasn't wearing a shirt, then finally rested on horror.

Our eyes met, and from the glance he sent to me, I knew he hadn't finished. The lid of the box was still in place, so to the best of my knowledge, he hadn't even gotten it open.

"Welcome back." Gozaburo said as the men who worked for him lined up along the wall nearest the door.

Gozaburo held out a hand towards Mokuba, making a grabbing motion. In doing so, Mokuba was pulled in his direction. My brother gasped as he was thrown to the floor, his face distorting in pain.

"Say hello to your brother, Seto." Gozaburo said.

I quickly joined Mokuba on the floor. We both were laying on our stomachs, heads beside each other. While we grew accustomed to our new positions, Gozaburo began a long rant about how we had this coming, and how amazing his power was. He went on to question how we ever assumed that we could defeat him.

I ignored him for the most part. My eyes were on Mokuba, who obviously was trying to tell me something. He bit his lip, then flicked his gaze in the direction of the other doorway. All though the movement was brief, I understood the point. The others were in the hallway. And even though there were others nearby, I wasn't sure what good that would do. Even with an entire army waiting over there, with Gozaburo's powers, it wouldn't be enough. No physical process could stop him.

'Seto.' Mokuba mouthed. 'The book is on the floor behind the table.'

If I had been able to respond, I most likely would have said something along the lines of, "What can I do?" But since I could do nothing, I tried my best to express my thoughts through expression. He did seem confused. Of course, he didn't know that I was incapable of speaking, and there was no way that I could let him know.

Gozaburo took a step towards me. When he did so, he positioned himself so he stood directly beside my left foot. He was still ranting about his victory, but I could tell that he was wrapping it up. And since Gozaburo's threat of forcing me to kill Mokuba still sounded in my mind, I had to act now.

I made sure that I had Mokuba's attention. They only way I knew of to tell him what was about to happen was one simple movement. I winked.

Mokuba raised an eyebrow. But he didn't get much time to contemplate what I meant. I acted then. I did so without thinking the plan entirely through, and without knowing whether or not Mokuba could do what he needed to with only a couple seconds.

Taking a deep breath, I swung my legs around, knocking Gozaburo's out from under him, and he fell down on top of me.

Mokuba rolled around, quickly disappearing from my view behind the table. That and the lack of gun fire were the only things that I had time to notice. Gozaburo was on the floor beside me, and he wouldn't be down for long. I was certain that the only reason he wasn't currently killing me was because he had landed on his head.

I slid out from underneath his legs and tried to get away from him. But even when I managed to take a step away, Lector grabbed at me. Not long after that, Johnson came as well.

Fighting two older men should have been simple, but I allowed myself to be distracted. Gozaburo was beginning to push himself up off the ground, and I couldn't see how Mokuba was doing. I tried not to look that direction. I didn't want to make it seem like I was focused on that, that would certainly give Gozaburo an advantage.

As the Ruler got to his feet, a long silver object flew through the air towards his head. I barely had time to notice it before Gozaburo flicked his wrist and it fell to the ground. My gaze wasn't on the discarded knife, but on the girl who threw it.

Kaelyn had run into the room at some point, most likely after seeing Mokuba jump for the Book. And as much as I admired her bravery, I feared that she had just thrown her life away.

But she wasn't killed immediately. Gozaburo let her walk into the room, waiting until she stopped moving before he reacted. I wasn't sure if he knew that she was now standing directly over Mokuba. From where she stood, I could tell that she was straddling Mokuba's legs. But if Gozaburo did know, he didn't show it.

"Enough of this." He said, pointing to the dagger. Without even glancing my way, he forced me to the floor in front of the table that held the items. Now that I was kneeling on the ground before him, I assumed that he would finally take the time to act out his revenge plan. However, he still didn't glance my way, just held me in place. He was looking at Kaelyn.

"Can I assume that you are the mysterious Kelli Dallat?"

I leaned my head back, looking up at Kaelyn. She stood proudly across from the most powerful man alive, staring him straight in the eyes.

Gozaburo pulled my face back so I was looking at him.

"Seto, you didn't tell me that you were living with such a lovely lady."

I could all most hear Kaelyn cringing. That obviously wasn't the reaction that she had hoped for. But at least it was stalling him.

She was simply a distraction. She knew how curious Gozaburo had been about her ever since she had left that folder at the old house. All though there were more pressing matters that Gozaburo needed to address, he wouldn't be able to let his curiosity slide. Her sudden appearance might give Mokuba the time he needed, or at least enough time to do something. She was willing to take the risk to get the job done.

I could hear Mokuba's voice murmuring behind me. From that I concluded that he was going over the last page. His voice was beginning to grow louder, soon enough, Gozaburo would be able to hear him speaking, and there wasn't a thing I could do to fix that.

"Why are you doing all this?" Kaelyn shouted, doing the very thing that I couldn't, giving Mokuba time.

"Because that orphan brat took everything away from me!" Gozaburo shot back, barely taking a moment to think over his answer. "It is time I returned the favor."

"How does being more successful than you make him a brat? Wouldn't that just make him a better business man?" She responded, purposefully trying to anger him.

And she was doing a great job with that. His face grew to a deep red. It was an expression that I had seen hundreds of times while living under his roof. Back then, it didn't scare me too much; there was only so much he could physically put me through. But now that he had the ability to kill both Mokuba and me within moments, I was afraid.

Mokuba's gasp pulled me from my current train of thought. Before I had time to worry that Gozaburo had heard it, the table I was leaning on disappeared. Rather, it was thrown to the side. The items that had been laying across the top were scattered around the wall, the wall that had the door leading to the others. But in that motion, Mokuba revealed himself.

"Take your item back!" He shouted.

Gozaburo's head turned towards the doorway. With him watching, no one would make it through. He reached out a hand in preparation for whatever was about to occur, but Mokuba found a way to distract him once more.

Even though I couldn't see Mokuba behind me, I knew what he was doing. The sound of paper tearing let me know that he was destroying the most valuable book ever in existence.

Gozaburo didn't hesitate before screaming and jumping over to Mokuba. By doing so, he pushed me out of his way, llosing his grip on me and leaving me beside Lector. I glanced over to the door to see Isis scanning the ground for the Necklace, but she hadn't taken it yet. Crump and Nesbitt had just noticed her action and started to make their way over to her, but I scrambled to my feet and blocked their path.

They glared me down, then tried to look around me to see what Isis was doing. I knew that I was about to be a fool, but that didn't stop me from swinging my fist at Nesbitt's face. Luckily, I didn't feel quite as dumb when it made contact.

The room was in a frenzy. There were two fights going on, mine and Mokuba's. I couldn't spare a glance over to see how my brother was faring, but I trusted that Kae would help him. Mine was certainly more one-sided. I was only trying to keep the four men occupied long enough for Yugi, Isis, and Ryou to take their items, which seemed to take longer than I expected it to.

Then I recalled the men lining the walls with guns. Why weren't they stepping in? The idea that they were only working for Gozaburo out of fear sprang into my mind. Perhaps they were hoping that we would win. If that was the case, they would no longer be until his rule. Us winning would be better for the world, and they must have known that.

Or they might just be waiting for orders. It could be that they didn't want to act without Gozaburo's permission. Either way, I was grateful that we weren't under gun fire.

"Johnson! Stop that woman!" Gozaburo shouted upon seeing Isis reaching for the Necklace. Amid the flurries of fists and punches, I grabbed for Johnson's shirt, holding him back long enough for Isis to grab her item.

It began to glow, just as the Rod had done when I first touched it. Everyone in the room froze just a brief moment while the light made everything too bright to see. When the light faded away, the first thing I saw was Yugi picking up the Puzzle.

The glowing light was repeated once more. When that one disappeared, I saw the smile on Yugi's face. His fingers traced the outline of the eye on the relief that filled his expression clued me in to the fact that he had fully gotten back all that he lost.

Gozaburo took the Book out of Mokuba's hands. With a shout, he pulled Mokuba to his feet by his hair and threw him into a wall. Kaelyn ran to kneel beside him.

He reached out, just as he had done many times before, and I stared in horror as he pointed to Mokuba.

"I'm going to enjoy this." He said. Spinning around quickly, he redirected his pointed finger in my direction.

"Come here." He ordered.

Lector and Nesbitt stepped away from me, leaving me standing by myself. I didn't take my eyes off of my step-father, and yet, I didn't obey.

I was just as confused as Gozaburo was. I didn't obey an order. Didn't he have some power that made me do what he said? He had used it on me several time in the past hour alone, why wasn't it working now?

He repeated his command. "Seto, come here."

"No." I said.

I said? I could talk. My mouth was no longer sealed closed. Why was I suddenly free to speak?

I looked over at Yugi and Isis. Both of them held their items in full view, which is how I knew what had happened. That is what Mokuba meant. Them taking their items back was taking away portions of Gozaburo's power. The items had simply been the containers for the powers of the Book. Without them, he was losing his control.

Nervous glances were passed around the soldiers in the room. I had been right about them being forced to work for the Ruler. And I wasn't the only person who noticed.

"You don't have to listen to Gozaburo any more!" Yugi exclaimed, at least, I thought it was Yugi. Was it just me, or was his voice suddenly much deeper? He took a step forward. "Without these items, he is powerless. He won't be able to stop you if you choose to leave right now."

The men shifted uncomfortably, as if unsure who they should follow. Obviously, Gozaburo had done something to them to force them into service. However, what Yugi was saying sounded better. Without Gozaburo in control, the world could go back to normal. They could return to their lives.

"Do not listen to him! Shoot him!" Gozaburo ordered, but just as before, they didn't obey.

"Think about how much better the world would be without Gozaburo ruling over it!" Yugi said, pleading with the men to rethink their allegiance. "Don't you have families you want to get back to? This isn't worth risking your lives over."

That was when the first man left. Even with Gozaburo shouting threats after him, one of the soldiers walked out the door. The others all became greatly determined and followed him out. I couldn't help but smile when they were all gone. That left only us, the remaining Big Five, and Gozaburo.

I saw Isis out of the corner of my eye. She was trying to give the Ring back to Ryou, who didn't look eager to take it back. They were arguing over it, she would push it towards him and he would lean away from it. I willed him to take the Ring back, even though I understood why he was trying to stay away from it. The spirit who lived inside wasn't the most friendly person. In fact, he made Seth look like a saint. But there were far more important things right now than that. It would be really difficult for him to voluntarily take the spirit back into his life, but it was just something that he had to do.

"I may not be able to control you," Gozaburo said to me. "But I certainly can still kill you."

He looked behind himself at Mokuba, who was still sitting against the wall. Gozaburo started towards him. I tried to rush over, but Nesbitt and Lector stopped me. I struggled in their grasp as Gozaburo neared Mokuba, but it was to no avail.

Kaelyn got to her feet to block the path to Mokuba. It wouldn't work. She wouldn't be able to stop Gozaburo, but maybe it would be somewhat helpful.

Two things happened right then. Not simultaniously, but close enough together that it was hard to focus on both.

It began with Ryou taking the Ring. Another flash of light, followed with Ryou falling to the ground. Gozaburo stopped midstep, grabbing at his head in pain.

Then, after he had recovered, he continued on after Mokuba. Just as he was about to push by Kae, a gun shot rang out. Heads turned, looking for the source, and who had been hit. My eyes first landed on Gozaburo, who stood clutching his chest. He glanced around, just as confused as everyone else.

Joey Wheeler was the last person I expected to see holding the gun. He dropped the weapon to the floor, staring at his hands in horror. All expressions were shocked, as if they too didn't expect Wheeler to be the man behind the shot.

Gozaburo pulled his hand away from his chest, finding it covered with blood. It had been a good shot. Unfortunately, the wound wasn't fatal, but he was losing a lot of blood. His knees buckled underneath him, giving way until he collapsed. He didn't say a word, but it was apparent that he understood what had just happened. He no longer had any power. He had lost.

Carson entered the room then, picking up the gun and holding it to Gozaburo. He wouldn't shoot him. I had told them beforehand, if this worked, we weren't going to take our vengeance on him. It wasn't my place to exact judgement.

Mokuba stood up, then walked around Gozaburo to stand in front of me.

"You lose." He said, directing his words to Lector, Nesbitt, Crump, and Johnson.

They held up their hands in defeat, letting me go in the process, then fled the room. I watched them leave, a smile finding its way to my face.

And I wasn't the only one wearing that expression. Looking around, all faces were full of joy. But the face right in front of me was the last I settled on, and the one I truly cared about.

"Seto," Mokuba began, "Why aren't you wearing a shirt?"

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Yay! I've now got just one more scene to write and this story is complete. Wow, this story is all most complete. How have you people hung on for this long?

_Preview: The last chapter! You didn't think I'd leave Seth out of the picture, did you?_

Please REVIEW!


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer! The Last One!

Hey everyone! Here it is, the last chapter of Arose Power. I hope you've all enjoyed reading it!

Oh yeah, I'm considering going back through From the Dead and rewriting it. It isn't written very well. What do you think?

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**Seto's POV**

**One Year Later**

I stared out the window which faced over the city. I was standing on the top floor of the tallest building in Domino, but even after a year, the tallest building was only three stories.

Domino was still rough. The citizens had finally assembled together to try to work things back to the way they had been before Gozaburo. We had done a lot. The streets were clean, shops were back in business, the farms outside the city were producing crops again; things were good.

But they weren't great. While everyone else was cleaning and working on the shops, I was still trying to get the electricity up and running. It was taking much longer than I assumed it would. Whatever the Items had done had wiped everything. All of the electrical systems were entirely destroyed, and that meant that I, and a team of electricians, had to rebuild them all. So far, we had managed to get power to the few main buildings in town. Transferring it to the houses was more work than our small team could handle in such a short time.

"Mr. Kaiba, that woman is back again."

I hadn't heard anyone enter the room. I turned around to see one of the men on my team, Harland, standing behind me. From the obvious distaste expressed on his face, I knew exactly which woman he was referring to.

"Tell her to come back." I stated.

"I tried that. She insists upon talking to you." Harland said.

I groaned. This woman came to the office I was now in more often than any other citizen of the town. She had the idea in her mind that I was the solution to the world's problems. And so, she came four or five times a week to complain about her problems in the hope that I would help her.

"Then, say that I'm in a meeting." I suggested.

Harland laughed. "A meeting with whom? We don't have meetings."

"How would she know that?"

He shrugged and walked out of the room. I knew that the meeting excuse wasn't going to keep her at bay. She was relentless.

"Seto Kaiba! You are not in a meeting!"

She stormed in. I found myself amazed that I did everything in my power to avoid this one small woman. She began her rant as I stood frozen in place, and it dawned on me that I had never taken the time to commit her name to my memory.

"-and then they just took them! Every last one of my potatoes! How am I supposed to bake a potato without a potato?" She shouted, but she didn't stop there. That was simply when I stopped listening.

I ended up looking over her head at the group of men standing behind her. They were having a good laugh at my expense, and all I could do about it was give them the dirtiest glare I could manage. It only served to make them laugh all the more.

I watched Mokuba walk up behind the men. He gave them an odd look before glancing over at me. A smile spread across his face when he saw who was currently talking at me.

Mokuba ended up running into the room. He started breathing deeply and made a play of grabbing at his chest.

"Seto-" He began, panting out his words. "There is an emergency." He sent a glance to the woman, who had suddenly stopped speaking.

He stopped panting and put on a serious expression. "A top secret emergency."

"Oh, well, that sounds important. I'm sorry to cut this short, but, top secret." I said, walking past her and taking Mokuba's hand. We left the room together.

"Thanks for your help." I spat at the men as I passed them, and they continued laughing.

"But I really mean that to you." I told Mokuba once we were out of hearing range.

"I think that you should get a security guard. Just to keep her out, he doesn't have to have any other responsibilities. What was her problem this time?"

We walked down the hallway until we reached my office. Once inside, I locked the door behind us so that way, no unexpected visitors would be able to storm in.

"Potatoes. She was upset, over potatoes." I answered, walking to my chair and collapsing into the seat. Mokuba chose to sit on my desk instead of another chair.

"There isn't enough food."

I just noticed that Mokuba was dirty. His face was smudged with dirt, as were his clothes. He had a black bandana tied around his head to keep his hair out of his eyes.

"You've been out at the farms again, haven't you?" I asked.

"Indeed I have been. They need a lot of help you know." He said, subconsciously moving around papers on my desk.

"I know. I've been trying to find more people to send out there, but no one wants that job. It isn't the cleanest one." I stated, looking him up and down to enforce my point.

He chuckled. "I know I'm gross. Sorry, I just wanted to come visit before I head home. It is the one year anniversary of your victory."

I glanced over to my bookshelf. It was filled with blueprints and sketches that I had been working on, but on one of them, there was a display case. Inside was a small medal. I had received it from the US Government after Gozaburo's capture. Of course, it immediately went up on the shelf and I never paid it any attention. After all, it was just a piece of metal.

"My victory? As I recall, I was the bait, and you were the one who actually defeated him."

"I defeated him? Was I the person who broke into his palace, a palace that I designed, and came up with a brilliant plan? Oh no, I simply read a book. Any five-thousand year old priest from Egypt could have done the same."

We both laughed, knowing that we had been through this same conversation many times before. Technically, all of us, Mokuba, Kaelyn, Yugi, Wheeler, Ryou, Carson, Marik, and myself had been given the medal. Apparently the government had money to waste on such trival things.

There was a knock on my door. I glanced to Mokuba, who sent me a glare.

"Please, allow me. I know how busy you've been sitting inside all day. I've just been out working away in the farms around the edges of town. So please, let me get the door."

"Since you asked nicely." I said, not bothering to hide my apparent smirk.

Mokuba slid off my desk and walked to the door. He made a big show of opening it, adding a mock bow to the end.

"Mr. Kaiba. A lady here to see you/" Harland said.

"If it is the potato woman again, I literally will murder you/" I stated.

"Is that really how you think of me Seto? And after I've come all this way."

I stood when Kaelyn came walking into the room. I barely recognized her, but her voice was something I never thought I'd be able to forget. And that was about the only thing that had remained the same since the last time I'd seen her. Her hair was no longer brown, but back to the blonde it had been when I had met her. Her clothing was much different that it had been in Egypt too. We had kept with general browns and whites while across the sea, and we tried to match the styles of the others in the city. Now she was in a t-shirt and jeans, and a large pair of combat boots.

"Kaelyn. What are you doing in Domino?" Mokuba asked.

She gave him a hug, not seeming to notice how dirty he was.

"It is our anniversary! So I decided to take a vacation and come see my favorite set of brothers."

I moved around my desk, but didn't walk over to where Mokuba and she were standing. I leaned back against my desk and waited for the two of them to come over, which I was certain they were about to do.

And they did. Kaelyn came over and extended a hand. I took it to begin the handshake, but she quickly pulled me into a hug. I smiled, amazed that I didn't see that coming, but returned the hug. Before that hug, I hadn't realized how much I missed her.

"How have you been?" She asked once the hug had ended.

"I'm okay. I have absolutely nothing to complain about." I answered, leaning back once more.

"Except potato lady." Mokuba muttered.

"Shouldn't you be back home cleaning up?" I asked.

"It was nice to see you Kaelyn. Don't leave without coming over to see me, okay?" Mokuba said. Once he received the promise from Kaelyn, he said his goodbyes and left the room.

I had noticed Kaelyn's bad from the moment she walked into the room. She hadn't commented on it, but I knew the true reason for her visit. It was my goal to keep the subject from her reason until I could think of an excuse to leave.

"Nice to see that you have electricity in here. How long did that take?" She asked, sitting down in the chair that Mokuba had passed up.

"Just a few months. We nearly have the whole city rewired." I answered.

"That's very cool. DC is nearly completely electric too." She said.

"How are things in the capital?"

We were putting off the inevitable. It was clear that we both knew what her purpose for the visit was, but neither of us were willing to be the first to bring it up. I could see her fingers tapping on her bag, a sure sign that she had it on her mind.

"Not great. Gozaburo uprooted the entire government system you know. The men who refused to listen and obey him were killed, and that was a large portion of the government leaders. And those who did agree to obey him aren't respected by the people. So, we are having to reelect leaders."

"Have you been busy?"

"Not as busy as you might think. For someone who totally saved the Earth, the normal treatment is hero status for a year or two. I've been giving more speeches than going on assignments. I totally hate it."

"And Carson?" I asked, trying to stall just a while longer.

"He is getting similar treatment. But he wasn't there for the vast majority of out mission, so he was just promoted. How is Yugi doing?" She responded. I picked up on her method of stalling.

"I'm not really sure. I haven't seen him in about two months. Last I heard, he was going to try to find Ryou."

She didn't respond then. It wasn't a well known fact that Ryou had gone missing soon after our return to America. The general public wasn't aware, but we all knew. Before his departure, there had been no hiding the fact that the spirit of the ring was back in control of his body. Taking the Ring was something that had to be done, but not a day went by that I didn't feel guilty over his being forced into it.

"I have been talking to Isis Ishtar about that. She said that she was looking into a way to get rid of the-" she paused, trying to find the word, "effects, of the Ring. She sounded hopeful last time we spoke."

The effects. That was how she thought of the spirits inside the Items. _Effects_. Of course, I don't think that anyone had ever explained the whole of the matter to her, but to think of Bakura as an effect was hard for me to imagine.

"Hopeful or not, Ryou is still missing."

"I have some bad news." Kaelyn said suddenly. I noticed how she was biting down on her cheek in nerves. But she didn't normally show her nervousness in such a manner, which lead me to one conclusion.

"What about him?"

"Since we currently don't have a government, and none of the other countries do either, there is no court system set up. And because DC's current goal is to get operations back up and running, Gozaburo is going to be held in a secure location until there can be a trial."

I turned my head away so she wouldn't see the initial annoyance displayed.

It had been a year, and Gozaburo hadn't been punished for his actions. He had been sitting away in some cell for the entire time, probably thinking that he had caused so much damage that there wouldn't be a trial in his lifetime. And from the way things were looking, that might be the case. Reelecting officials would take time, a lot of time. Then finding a judge and jury suitable for such an important case? The odds of it happening any time within the next few years were slim.

"I cannot believe Wheeler missed that shot." I stated, speaking more to myself than to Kaelyn. That had bothered me ever since it happened. Wheeler hadn't been that far away, hitting the man in a location that was fatal shouldn't have been hard.

"Did you ever think that maybe he didn't want to kill him? I mean, it is Joey. I don't know if he has murder in him." Kaelyn suggested.

I turned back to face her. "Either way, killing him would have solved a lot of my problems. And has anyone tried to kill him since then?"

She smiled at me. "Of course. We have about six or seven attempts each month. I hate that we have to protect him, but that is just how things are supposed to be in America."

"Do you really think of this as America? Look around, we have lost so much progress in that one year. Gozaburo's short rule has cost the entire world years of work. I don't know if we will ever be able to recover."

"At least it isn't over a hundred degrees everyday." Kaelyn said. She then stood up and walked over to my bookshelf. I didn't stop her from playing around with my work. If she was going to mess things up, there was nothing I could do to stop her.

I stayed where I was. I could feel the conversation lag, which meant that she was about to bring it up. It was only a matter of seconds before-

"Seto, you know why I'm here."

"Kaelyn, I don't want to have this conversation with you. I've told everyone else the same answer that I am going to tell you now. No."

She dropped the stack of papers she was holding. They scattered across the floor, going in every direction. I let the comment about my having to reorganize them all slide. Now was not the time for sarcasm.

"You aren't being fair. You owe it to him."

"I don't owe him anything! You don't understand, Kaelyn, I can't do what you are asking."

She glared at me. I watched as her hand went down into her bag, then as it came back up, holding on to the Rod. She didn't extend it to me, but looked it over.

"If it wasn't for him, you would be dead. Mokuba would be dead. Gozaburo would still be in control over everything. Seth was the one who saved the world. We all owe him this."

"You aren't the one giving up everything by taking him back. You have never had to live with someone else who was living inside of you. Someone who could see inside your mind, access your thoughts and feelings. You have never had someone take over your body and just had to watch as that person lived your life. Kaelyn, you can't imagine what taking that would do to me." I responded.

"I lived with you for a year, and this can't be any worse. If Seth could come back into anyone else, I'm sure that he would chose to. But keeping him trapped inside this" she held out the Rod at that point. "isn't the proper way to repay him for sacrificing himself to save you."

I had heard all of the same arguments before. Yugi had tried, and when he didn't succeed, he sent Mokuba to me. If my own brother couldn't convince me to take the Rod, there was no way that Kaelyn would be able to.

"I may not have been here while Seth was around, but from what I've heard, he wasn't that bad. It was your stubbornness that kept things from being peaceful. Just look at Yugi! How often do you hear of he and the Pharaoh fighting? It is possible to get along."

"And look at Ryou! He took the Ring back and now, where is he? Oh wait, we don't know. The Thief took him away because he is entirely capable of doing so. Not all of the spirits are good, or did you forget that?"

"You can't compare him to Seth! You know that they aren't the same."

"How do you know that?" I answered, then realized how loud our voices had gotten.

She seemed to have the same revelation as I had, and her next words were at a much softer volume.

"Seto. Just, think about it, all right?"

She walked back to my desk and laid the Rod down. I reached out to give it back to her, but pulled my hand back. Last time, it had just taken a touch to bring about Seth. I wasn't going to risk that again.

"Don't leave it here." I said, but I spoke with the full understanding that she had no intention of leaving with it.

"I'm going to your house next. I'll let Mokuba know that he can move it after one day. That is all I'm asking, just think on it for one day."

I hated how reasonable she made it sound. And how she left me to think about it on my own. As soon as she made her request, she backed out of the room.

So I was left with the Rod on my desk. I made a large circle walking around to my chair, keeping my distance. I didn't want to take it back. I wouldn't take it back. So what if Seth had saved my life? Yugi had done the same before, but I never gave him any form of payment. Why should Seth receive better treatment?

If I took the Rod, then I would have to pay Yugi back for the times he had come to my rescue. And as much as I hate to admit, that meant that Wheeler would need to be paid back too. And that I would never bring myself to do.

But Seth hadn't just saved my life. Without him, Mokuba would be dead. Gozaburo had told me his plan. I would have had to kill Mokuba, through some type of force on his part. But even if I was being forced, I would have had to commit the act. Not that I would be torn over it now, because I too would be dead.

The list of things that would have been different came into my mind. Marik would probably still be alive, several of the men from Egypt would have never gone there, so their lives would still be continuing. Gozaburo would still have complete control over the world. Gansley would be alive. Kaelyn would probably be dead, as she was already on her way to Egypt when I met her.

Seth had done good in his action, as well as some bad. But how it had related to me, most of which was for the better, aside from Marik's death. There was a nagging feeling in my chest as I came to the conclusion that I did owe him.

If only there was a way to bring Seth back, but with rules. Rules such as no taking over my body. Ever. Or, leave me alone while working. No talking to Mokuba, or don't read my thoughts. And no pet names.

But I knew that it wasn't possible to do that. I couldn't negotiate with him while he was still locked away. In order to speak with him, I had to take the Rod. But once I took the Rod, I would have no leverage. He could take over my body without a second thought, then I'd be the one locked away.

Or things would just go back to how they were before Gozaburo. The constant arguing and reading of my mind. Random times when he was in control of my body and carrying around the large golden item. The constant distractions while trying to work, I don't think there was anything I could do to keep him from that.

I started thinking back to Egypt. Living with Kaelyn had been so similar. She insisted upon being involved in what I was working on, to the point that often times, I couldn't focus. We had several arguments daily, mostly on things that didn't matter at all. She forced me into doing things that I never wanted to do, like being the bait or letting Ryou go after Mokuba. Kaelyn wasn't a mind-reader, but she did ask so many questions that eventually, it felt like she knew everything that was going on inside my head.

Was living with Seth that much different?

I brought my hands to my face and began trying to rub that thought out of my head. Of course it was different. Kaelyn may have gotten on my nerves in many of the ways that Seth did, but it was an entirely different situation. She wasn't attached to my soul or whatever Seth was. She had no way to force control over my body and actions. She wasn't there all the time.

I remembered when Seth had kept me from passing out in that store downtown two years ago. I was grateful to him then. That was the only time. Well, that and when he took my place going into face Gozaburo.

A flashback of him and Yami in the backseat of the car attacking each other with seat belts came into my mind, and I started laughing. He didn't ever get along with Yami while he was with me. The time when he had left Yugi to walk home were actually times that I appreciated him. And I still found that the comment about Yami's hair still rang true.

Seth was the only person that I had known in years who was capable of truly arguing with me. He knew what was going on inside my mind, and because of that, I wasn't able to lie in the fights. At the time, it had bothered me, but now-

No. I didn't miss that. It was annoying and rude of him to break inside my head to win an argument. It was lower than cheating.

The eye on the Rod seemed to be staring at me. For some reason, I imagined that Seth was watching, waiting to see what decision I was going to make. I couldn't move it without touching it, so I was forced to leave it facing me.

I could have gotten up and moved seats, but that felt like I was losing to Seth. I didn't want him to feel like he had taken the upper hand with my surrender, so I stayed where I was. But I did try not to look at the eye.

Thinking of Seth looking at me reminded me of the expression on his face when Mokuba took my locket from around my neck. He knew how much it meant to me, and I could feel his pain over it being taken. In that moment, I knew that he held some manner of respect for the things which held importance in my life. Even if he didn't show it all the other times, it had hurt him for me to be hurt.

I reached up for my locket. I had reclaimed it after Gozaburo was arrested. It was the only thing I had brought back with me from Egypt. I left all the clothes, furniture, and such down there because I didn't want to have to think about it ever again. The locket was the one thing that I had searched the entire palace for.

And Seth knew how much it meant to me. He spent most time pretending that he didn't care, but he did. That first night that we met, he had seen that memory of Gozaburo. He actually got angry then. Mokuba had always been upset about the things Gozaburo had done to me, that is, the things I had let him know about, but Seth had been angry. I spent so many hours of my life caught up in that anger, but no one ever seemed to understand. Seth had after just a single memory.

When I had told Mokuba about Seth, I had to bring Seth out to prove my story. I recalled how happy Seth was that I had called him so early. I remember thinking that he was happy that I wanted him.

Maybe I was being selfish. Seth was a pain, but there were times that we got along. There probably would have been more if I hadn't been so determined to hate him. Maybe I was really the cause of the problems between the two of us.

I groaned, realizing that I had lost my own argument. No one else had been able to convince me that I was wrong, but my own conscious had successfully done the job. I knew I was going to regret this decision the moment I took action.

But I reached out and took hold of the Rod.

* * *

Dear Readers,

Thank you to everyone who stuck this out with me. I hate that it took me so long to finish this series, but I really wanted to make sure that this final chapter was done properly. I hate that it has to end here, but I'm working on a new story now, and I really like that one. While working on From the Dead Arose Power, I did come up with the plot for a third installment, but I know that there is no way I could drag this on any longer. I love this series, and it is the first time I have successfully finished any piece of writing this long. For those of you who are curious, I've written about 100,000 words on this series. For some, that might not be a lot, but for me? This is a stinking miracle.

Again, thank you for stay with this. I appreciate every one of you!

-KaelynnD


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